I think unanswered prayer troubles all of us. After
listening to a sermon this morning, I realized the beauty of the fact that God
first said no to Himself.
Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. Then Satan
tempted Him, saying, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become
bread.” Jesus said, “No.” Why?
Ravi Zacharias explained:
“The marvelous thing about Him was He
did not want to draw people by feeding some earthly appetite of theirs. Every
leader sooner or later finds out that self-centered appetites are
insatiable. You can never satisfy
the one who wants more and more and more bread and the things of this world.”
Jesus knew if He displayed His miraculous ability to create
food, people would follow Him for the food and not for the Word of God. So He
chose not to make bread, even for Himself.
He made a different choice in John 6:1-13. Jesus had
compassion on the people who were hungry and fed five thousand men with five
loaves and two fish. Sure enough, they immediately wanted to make Him king.
The next day they searched for Him. They wanted more food.
“Jesus
answered them and said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because
you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which
perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of
Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him’” (John
6:26-27 NKJV).
If God always gives me what I want, He becomes a cosmic
vending machine. Insert prayer; get candy, chips, or trail mix. Sometimes a
hunger that causes me to seek God is better than a full stomach that enables me
to go my own way.
Jesus refused to turn stones into bread to satisfy His own
hunger because He knew it would get in the way of God the Father’s greater
purpose. Can I complain when He says no to me?
