The Problem of Unanswered Prayer
Greetings and good morning brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series
where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years,
the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them
with you. This morning we will ponder our lives as we seek to understand the problem of
unanswered prayer.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Problem of Unanswered Prayer
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matthew, Chapter
5, Verse 48.
Brothers and sisters, the heavenly Father has commanded, "be you perfect even as your heavenly
Father is perfect." "Seek and you shall find," "knock and the door shall be opened." The primary
thrust of all existence is the achievement of divine perfection, even as the heavenly Father is perfect.
Therefore all of our prayers must be consistent with his command. Since it is the Father's will that
we be perfect as he is, only those prayers that are consistent with the Father's will can be realized in
some form. Moreover, only those prayers that are identical to the Father's will can be fully realized.
Thus the necessity of the attitude of "not my will, but your will be done" in seeking to recognize the
answer to prayer.
The Father's will is ever present. Though delayed by time and handicapped by space, it will certainly
manifest itself. Though time and space may appear to be our enemy, it is not in fact. Time and space
allow us to participate in our own growth process by giving us the opportunity to choose the Father's
will.
But when we start out as we are, we are far from being perfect. Perfection is our destiny, but
imperfection is our origin. Being imperfect, we are bound to make errors, bound to choose in error,
bound to stumble over divine laws until such time as maturity of existence allows us to recognize
and abide by them. Having free will, we can also choose to reject the Father's mandate to be perfect
as he is perfect, thus rejecting survival.
The heavenly Father sends his spirit to live in our minds and souls to instruct us in the ways of divine
perfection through his Son, Jesus, the Spirit of Truth. It is this divine spirit that creates the thirst for
truth and the hunger for righteousness, which is the drive for perfection. The Father does not violate
our free will but has created us in such a manner that we can respond to the command of perfection.
It is our self consciousness that allows us to realize our imperfection. Without self consciousness,
we would still be imperfect, but we would not know it. It is the realization of imperfection along
with the realization that we can achieve perfection that starts the ball rolling.
Being self conscious makes us aware of our mortality. Animals are mortal also, but they are not
aware of it; therefore they cannot desire survival beyond mortal death. We must crave survival in
order to survive. The self conscious craving for mortal survival and the will of the spirit Father
brings our souls into existence. The soul though having its origin in the material self transcends the
material self in that it survives while the material self expires. The soul is the realization of our moral
self consciousness, that is, the net result of choosing right over wrong. It is the consequence of
recognizing and choosing the value of the divine spirit.
Having become self conscious of moral reality, the self prays for guidance and direction in the
recognition and choosing of progressive moral and spiritual values. These values are realized in
moral activities. Prayer at first is likely to be of a material nature, reflecting its limited consciousness
of the divine spirit and identification with the same. As the soul continues to evolve, it influences
the self to change the nature of the prayer so that they become more spiritual.
Material prayers cannot be answered; only spiritual prayers can be answered. If the purpose of the
prayer is purely selfish, completely devoid of spiritual value, it has no spirit counterpart and therefore
cannot be answered. But in receiving the answer to spiritual prayers, capacity must be gained in order
to recognize the answer to the spiritual petition. And this ability to recognize the answer to prayer
is directly related to the growth of the soul.
The soul does not come into existence right away but gradually. The moral conscious evolves until
it becomes self conscious. This happens under the joint creation of the mind and the spirit of God.
At this point the moral consciousness becomes self conscious. The soul is said to be existent, a bona
fide reality. It continues to evolve until it becomes baptized by the spirit (born again) and crosses
over the line of spiritual reception. It is at this point that the soul can consciously realize the answer
to prayer. It has recognized the Father's command to be perfect even as he is perfect and eagerly
recognizes the merciful values and meanings proceeding from the Father of mercies. Let your chief
delight be in the Father's character and all your prayers will be answered.
The reception of the answer to prayer is indicated by the increased bearing of the fruits of the spirit.
As the soul prays, it bears more and more of the fruits of the spirit. Nothing can prevent the flow of
the fruit through the soul except the self, and the soul can receive nothing else, for the fruits of the
spirit are the highest value of truth, beauty, and goodness.
This concludes today's message on understanding the problem of unanswered prayer. We hope you
find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day. Until next time,
this is Dr. James Perry.
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