Jesus told many parables, often in response to situations or people He came across. These parables are full of great lessons, but sometimes there’s also a lesson in the prelude to the parable. One such example happens in Luke 12:13-15, which says:
“Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.””
Jesus goes on to tell the “parable of the rich fool,” who loses his soul because he only cares about worldly goods. The parable is a lesson about coveting, greed and priorities, but I believe there’s also a broader lesson about prayer in the 3 verses above before the parable even starts.
We can put ourselves in the place of the “someone in the crowd,” who wants something, and brings it to Jesus. Unlike him, we don’t meet Jesus physically on the street, but we come to Him in prayer all the time. We want something and we pray about it. When we pray, we often we want to get a particular answer, hopefully giving us what we want.
In the case of “someone” in the Luke 12 story, he wanted part of the family inheritance. In our case, we could want any number of things like financial gain, an end to a societal problem, better governance from our leaders, success for our children or others, a safe business trip or vacation, etc. God wants us to pray to Him about all things, and we do. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)
However, we often aren’t ready to listen to a different answer than the one we want. In the story, Jesus didn’t respond to “someone” with a direct answer, but with an answer that challenged the attitude behind the question. “You shall not covet”[1] is one of the Ten Commandments after all, and Jesus was letting “someone” know the condition of his heart was more important than the condition of his bank account.
God can respond to our prayers in the same way. Instead of solving what we think is the problem, He may try to reveal to us a deeper problem we need to deal with. But if we’re focused on the answer we want, we might miss the point He wants to make. To God, our sanctification is more important than our gratification but often get that backwards.
When we pray for financial gain, God may respond by challenging our priorities, our diligence, our spending habits, etc. In the Luke story, Jesus confronted the man’s covetousness.
When we pray for an end to societal problems, God may respond by telling us to care for a single mother[2], or support a homeless ministry, or volunteer at a food bank.
When we pray for better governance from our leaders, God may respond by telling us to control what we can control, by reminding us of His sovereignty, or by giving us practical means to work on the problems we want the politicians to solve, but on a smaller scale.
And so on. Sometimes we do get what we ask for in prayer, but sometimes God will use prayer to do what He promises to do: make us more like Jesus. Again, our sanctification is more important than our gratification, but sometimes we miss the point because we’re focused on our needs.
It’s ok to bring all of our needs and concerns to God in prayer, and sometimes we get what we want. However, don’t be surprised if He responds in surprising ways, but how? He can speak to us any way He chooses, but in my experience, He usually points things out in His word, through our circumstances, and through other believers.
Listen and be open to His answers. No matter what they might be.
“The majority of us begin with the bigger problems outside and forget the one inside. A man has to learn ‘the plague of his own heart’ before his own problems can be solved” – Oswald Chambers
“The heart of every problem is the problem in the heart.” – Warren Wiersbe
[1] Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21
[2] James 1:27
