Concerning God’s Answers
“And He[Jessu] came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.’” (Luke 22:39-46).
1. Ask Him in Accordance with the Law of the Spiritual Realm
God’s children receive salvation and have the right to receive from God whatever they ask by faith. That is why we read in Matthew 21:22, “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Yet, many people wonder why they do not receive God’s answers after praying. They question whether their prayer has been delivered to God, or wonder if God has even heard their prayer.
Just as we must to know proper means and routes of travel needed go on a trouble-free journey to a specific destination, we must also be aware of the proper means and routes of prayer we have to use so can we receive prompt answers from God. Unqualified prayer does not bring you God’s answers; we need to learn the law of the spiritual realm about receiving His answers and pray in accordance with that law.
Let us explore the law of the spiritual realm concerning God’s answers and its relationship with the seven spirits. Since prayer is asking the Almighty God for things we desire and need, we can receive His answers only when we ask Him in accordance with the law of the spiritual realm. No amount or degree of man’s effort based on his thoughts, methods, fame, wealth or knowledge will ever bring him God’s answers.
Since God is a righteous judge (Psalm 7:11), He hears our prayer, and answers it but, He requires a price to be paid in exchange for His answers. God’s answers to our prayer can be compared to purchasing meat from a butcher. If the butcher is likened to God, the scale the butcher uses can be likened to a device with which God measures whether or not one can receive His answers based on the law of the spiritual realm.
Suppose we went to a butcher to purchase two pounds of beef. When we ask him for the amount of meat we require, the butcher weighs the meat and sees whether or not the meat amounts to weigh two pounds. If the meat on the scale weighs two pounds, the butcher receives from us the appropriate sum of money for the two pounds of beef, wraps the meat, and gives it to us.
By the same token, while God does answer our prayer, without fail He receives something from us in return that warrants His answers. This is the law of the spiritual realm concerning God’s answers and an orderly system in Him.
For God hears our prayer, accepts from us something of befitting value, and then answers us, if one has yet to receive God’s answers to his prayer, this is because he has not yet presented God a sum befitting His answers. Since the amount necessary to receive God’s answers varies depending on the content of one’s prayer, until a person presents the faith before God that God requires to receive His answers, a person must continue to pray to accumulate that sum that is necessary to pay the price.
Even though we do not know in detail the sum that is befitting that God requires from us, He knows. Therefore, as we pay close attention to the voice of the Holy Spirit, we need to ask God for some things with fasting, certain things with vowed nightly prayer, others with prayer of tears, and still others with thanksgiving offerings. Such deeds accumulate the sum required to receive God’s answers, as He gives us the kind of faith by which we can believe, and blesses us with His answers.
Even if two people set aside and begin a time of vowed prayer, one receives God’s answers immediately after he begins vowed prayer, while another fails to receive His answers even after the duration of vowed prayer has finished. What explanations can we find for this disparity?
God is wise and makes His plans in advance. If God declares that an individual possesses a heart that will keep praying until the period of vowed prayer is up, He will answer the person’s request right away. Yet, if a person doesn’t receive God’s answers to a problem that is being faced now, that is because there has been a failure to give God a befitting sum for His answers. When we vow to pray for a certain period of time, we ought to know God has led our hearts so that He would receive the befitting sum of prayer for His answers. Consequently, if we fail to accumulate that sum, we fail to receive God’s answers.
For instance, if a man prays for his future spouse, God seeks a proper bride for him and prepares the way so that He may work for the man’s good in all things. This does not mean that the proper bride appears before the man’s eyes even though he is not yet of the age to get married only because he has prayed for her. For God has already answered those who believe they have received His answers, at the time of His choosing He will reveal His work to them.
However, when one’s prayer is not in line with His will, no amount of prayer will warrant God’s answers. If that same man sought and prayed for his future bride in terms of her educational background, physical appearance, wealth, fame, and the like – in other words, prayer filled with greed formed within the frame of his mind – God will not answer him.
Even if two people prayed to God with the same exact problem, for the degree of their sanctification and the measure of faith by which they can wholly believe are different, the amount of prayer God receives is also different (Revelation 5:8). One may receive God’s answers in a month’s time while the other would in a day’s time.
Furthermore, the greater the significance of God’s answers to one’s prayer, the greater the amount of his prayer must be. According to the law of the spiritual realm, a great vessel will be tested more greatly and come forth as gold to be used by God, while a smaller and lesser vessel may be tested on a lesser scale and used by God. Therefore, no one must judge others and say, “Look at all his hardships despite his faithfulness!” and disappoint God in any way.
Among our forefathers of faith, Moses was tested for 40 years and Jacob for 20 years, and we know how a suitable a vessel each became in God’s sight and was used for His great purpose after enduring their respective trials. Think of the process in which a national soccer team is formed and trained. If skills of a particular player is worthy of putting him on the roster, only after more time and effort invested in training will he be able to represent his country.
Whether the answer we seek from God is big or small, we must move Him. In praying to receive whatever we ask for, God will be moved and answer us when we give Him befitting sums of prayer, become cleansed spirits with no wall of sin standing between God and us, and give Him thanksgiving, joy, offerings, and the like as a token of our faith in Him.
2. The Seven Spirits
As we have examined with the metaphor of the butcher and his scale above, according to the law of the spiritual realm, God measures the amount of everyone’s prayer without error and determines whether the person has accumulated a befitting sum of prayer. While most people make judgments on a particular object only by what is visible to their eyes, God makes an accurate assessment with the seven spirits (Revelation 5:6). In other words, when one is declared qualified by the seven spirits, he is given God’s answers to his prayer.
What do the seven spirits measure?
First, the seven spirits measure one’s faith.
In faith, there are “spiritual faith” and “faith of flesh.” The kind of faith the seven spirits measure is not faith as knowledge – “faith of flesh” – but spiritual faith that is alive and accompanied by deeds (James 2:22). For example, In Mark 9:17, the father of a child who was possessed by a spirit that had robbed him of speech came before Jesus. The father said to Him, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” by saying “I do believe,” he confessed his faith of flesh, and by saying, “Help me overcome my unbelief,” he asked Jesus to give him spiritual faith. When he asked this, Jesus answered the father right away and healed the boy (Mark 9:18-27).
It is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). Yet, for we can fulfill the desires of our hearts when we do please Him, by the faith that can please God we can achieve the desires of our hearts. Therefore, if we do not receive God’s answers even though He has told us, “According to your faith it will be done to you,” it means our faith has not yet been made complete.
Second, the seven spirits measure one’s joy.
For 1 Thessalonians 5:16 tells us “Rejoice always,” it is God’s will for us to be joyful. Instead of being joyful in difficult times, many Christians today find themselves confined in anxiety, fear, and worry. If they truly believe in the living God with all their heart, they can always be joyous regardless of the situation in which they find themselves. They can be joyous in a fervent hope that lies in the everlasting heavenly kingdom, not in this world that is to pass away in a short while.
Third, the seven spirits measure one’s prayer.
For God has told us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and promised to give to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:7), it only makes sense to receive from God what we ask for in prayer. The kind of prayer with which God is pleased entails praying habitually (Luke 22:39) and kneeling down to pray in line with God’s will. With such an attitude and posture, you will naturally call out to God with all your heart and your prayer will be of faith and love. God examines this kind of prayer. We are not to pray only when we want something or are saddened and babble in prayer, but pray according to God’s will (Luke 22:39-41).
Fourth, the seven spirits measure one’s thanksgiving.
For God has commanded us to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), anyone with faith ought to naturally give thanks with all his heart. Since He has moved us from the path to destruction and onto the path to eternal life, how could we not be grateful? We are to be grateful for God’s meeting with those who earnestly seek Him and His answering to those who ask Him. Moreover, even if we face difficulties during our brief life of this world, we are to be grateful because our hope is in the everlasting heaven.
Fifth, the seven spirits measure whether or not one keeps God’s commands.
1 John 5:2 tells us, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.” and the following verse reminds us that God’s “commands are not burdensome.” Habitual prayer on one’s knees and calling out to God is prayer of love derived from faith. By faith and through this love for God, we should pray in accordance with His Word.
Yet, many people complain about the lack of God’s answers when they are heading west even though the Bible tells them, “Go east.” All they need to do is believe what the Bible tells them and obey it. However, for they are quick to put God’s Word aside, assess each situation according to their own thoughts and theories, and pray in according to their own benefits, God turns His face away from them and does not answer them.
Suppose you promised to meet your friend at a train station in New York City but subsequently realized you prefer the bus to the train, and took the bus to New York instead. No matter how long you wait at the bus station, will you be able to meet your friend? If you went west even after God had told you, “Go east,” you cannot be said to have obeyed Him. Yet, it is tragic and heartbreaking to see so many Christians possess such faith. This is neither faith nor love. If we say we love God, it is only natural for us to keep His commands (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3).
Love for God will drive us to pray all the more zealously and diligently. This love in turn will bear fruit in the salvation of souls and in evangelization. It will further the accomplishment of God’s kingdom and righteousness, and permit our spirits to prosper. It will also strengthen us instead of allowing us to grow weary in prayer. It will allow us to become grateful for the answers that we receive from God. It gives us greater opportunities to give glory to God for having received His answers and the belief that all this becomes our reward in heaven. Thus, if we profess our belief in God, it is only natural for us to obey the Ten Commandments, the very essence of the sixty-six books of the Bible.
Sixth, the seven spirits measure one’s faithfulness.
God wants us to be faithful not just in a particular area but in all His house. Furthermore, as the Bible tells us that “In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.” (1 Corinthians 4:2), it is proper for those with God-given duties to ask God for faithfulness. In addition, they should ask for faithfulness at home and work and, as they strive to be faithful in everything in which they play a part, their faithfulness must be accomplished in the truth.
Seventh, the seven spirits measure one’s love.
Even if one is qualified according to the six standards above, God tells us that without love we are nothing but a clanging cymbal, and that the greatest among faith, hope, and love is love. Moreover, Jesus fulfilled the Law in love (Romans 13:10) and as His children it is only right for us to love each other.
3. Measure of Faith and God’s Answers
In order to receive God’s answers to our prayer, we must first be qualified when measured against the standards of the seven spirits. Does this mean that novices, who do not yet know the truth, are unable to receive God’s answers?
Suppose a toddler who could not speak, one day very clearly spoke the word “Mommy.” His parents would be so delighted and give their child anything he desires. By the same token, for faith in God can also be distinguished, the seven spirits measure a new believer and God gives him His answers accordingly.
Therefore, while God is moved and delighted to answer a beginner in faith when even small faith is displayed, God is moved and delighted to answer when believers at the second or third level of faith have accumulated their corresponding measure of faith to receive His answer. Believers at the fourth or fifth level of faith, as they live by God’s will and pray in an even more befitting way to Him are instantly qualified in the sight of the seven spirits and receive God’s answers even more quickly.
In summation, the higher level of faith at which one finds himself and as he is that much more aware of the law of the spiritual realm and lives by it, the more quickly he receives God’s answers. Yet, for what reasons do novices often receive God’s answers more quickly? By the grace he receives from God, a novice becomes filled with the Holy Spirit and qualified in sight of the seven spirits and thus receives God’s answers more quickly. However, as he goes deeper into the truth, if he becomes slothful and gradually loses the first love and zeal he once had, he begins to grow cold and a tendency of “making up as you go along” develops.
In our ardor for God, let us become proper in the sight of the seven spirits by zealously living by the truth, receive from Our Father everything we ask for in prayer, and lead blessed lives in which we give glory to Him!