Jesus taught us in John 16 to “Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” So what do you do when your prayer is not answered? In this sermon clip, Bill Johnson teaches on persevering prayer and what to do when something you’ve been contending for in prayer is not fulfilled. We’ve been designed for answers to prayer.
if you’re praying and you’re not getting
any answers
he’s not the problem
[Applause]
but guilt and shame
won’t fix the problem either
john
16
this is where
jesus is letting his guys know
that their sorrow sadness
of his departure
will be met with overflowing joy
jesus is going to give a secret here
did you know
that jesus is referred to as the most
joyful human being to ever live
it’s in the book
in the book
it describes him as
his joy that surpassed all of his
brethren
and the language there i haven’t studied
it for years but as i remember looking
over that it basically said his joy was
greater than everybody else’s joy joy
put together
his joy was a greater more full joy than
everybody else around him combined
we just don’t see that on the tv shows
about him
chosen doesn’t look better with that joy
thing he seems to be pretty happy so i
love it for that reason and more
but here he says verse 23
in that day you will ask me nothing
most assuredly i say whatever you ask
the father in my name he will give you
until now you have asked nothing in my
name ask and you will receive that your
joy may be made full say that with me
that your joy may be made full let’s
make it personal that my joy would be
made full say it again that my joy would
be made full so here’s god writing a
prescription
and he’s saying i’m giving you a blank
check
as these blank checks are answered
you will discover dimensions of joy in
in me
that you have only seen in the person of
jesus
now i remind you what was the only thing
jesus excuse me what was the only thing
the disciples asked jesus to teach them
how to pray
he didn’t say they say teach us how to
multiply food what do you mean cool
didn’t didn’t say teach us how to heal
the sick didn’t ask for any of those
things said teach them teach them how to
pray why
i believe there’s a connection here i
believe there was something written in
their heart that they could see there’s
something about this time that jesus
goes up on the mountain he spends time
with the father his answers to prayer he
is demonstrating a dimension of joy we
know nothing about so when jesus comes
and gives them a unlimited set of blank
checks and he says listen this is how
you get into that joy
he’s inviting them into his own personal
breakthrough that he lived on a daily
basis joy beyond all human reasoning and
it was at least in part connected to his
answers to prayer
chris gore told us years ago
uh we just released them to head back to
new zealand but he uh he told us years
ago he said jesus never taught on how to
deal with unanswered prayers because he
didn’t have any
that’s worth remembering
jesus prayed and made a difference so
here’s the deal
if prayers are not being answered
it’s not god’s problem
let me rephrase it it’s not his fault
if there are no answers to prayer
it’s not god’s fault
if you’re praying and you’re not getting
any answers
he’s not the problem
[Applause]
but guilt and shame
won’t fix the problem either
i was designed for a seamless connection
that’s my nature
i was designed to hear from god it is in
my dna to produce fruit for the glory of
god
is it happening if it’s not happening at
at the place where i’m laying down my
life then i need to take jesus aside
in other words
lord i know you’re not the problem
and i don’t know what is but i have said
yes to a lifestyle that brings you glory
through continuous answers to prayer
i desire to see the impossibilities of
life bend their knee to the name jesus
through my lips that is the longing of
my heart
and the reason as far as i can tell my
motive is clean i want you glorified
it doesn’t matter to me if anybody
traces that back to my prayer what i
need is to see that i yielded you spoke
through me a miracle took place and now
all of creation and all of humanity
celebrates the goodness of a perfect
father because of that answer to prayer
we owe
the world around us answers to prayer
james talks about your prayers are not
answers because you and ask amiss
i miss who who’s
who’s a miss don’t don’t ask her
whatever
you ask with with wrong motives you you
ask outside of his purpose and plan and
i get that and i’m thankful that he
he he
he shuts down
those
those prayers in a sense
but sometimes
does this make sense sometimes you pray
the wrong thing for the right reason
and sometimes you pray the right thing
for the wrong reason
don’t stop
keep pressing in until that prayer is
purged and purified
don’t don’t stop don’t stop god it’s in
your word i don’t know if i’m doing this
right but it matters to me to see what
you’ve promised happened before me and
it was not to happen through my hands
i’m fine with that just do it through
somebody but we’ve got to see this thing
change we’ve got to see this thing turn
now i’m declaring your word into this
situation
doing all i know to do pray and act
take time
when you go to bed at night god teach me
teach me even as i sleep
how to pray more effectively all i want
is the name of jesus to be exalted in
the earth that’s all i want i want the
father glorified because he thought of
this redemptive plan to offer his son as
a sacrifice to restore people to an
eternal destiny of representing him on a
planet until this planet is transformed
it was your plan it’s perfect we
celebrate it now let it be implemented
implemented fully in and through my life
for the glory of god
i ache for this i ache for this
dimension of prayer for me
and for you
not that my will can be done
not for the building of my
kingdom
but i was designed
to fit seamlessly
into a kingdom where god is forever
glorified
that’s what i was made for
and prayer is my part
to see heaven come to earth
amen all right go instead
[Applause]
uh
prayer is such
a huge mystery to me
sometimes the most simple off-the-wall
extreme outrageous prayer prayed only
once taking three seconds is answered
i mean off-the-wall crazy stuff
and other things are labored for over
great periods of time
and they just seem to meet with great
resistance
and somebody had a dream
of me that was sent to me this last week
and i won’t go through the dream but
there’s a prophetic picture that
basically described
the determined focused walk
and as long as i keep walking
the
the enemy
that is trying to destroy has to run to
keep up
i love that picture
and they become exhausted and we don’t
we just keep plowing i just love the
picture i’m just kidding
what are you gonna do bill i’m just not
gonna quit that’s all i know i’m just
gonna i’m just not gonna quit i’m going
to keep going in the direction i said
yes to yeah but what about nobel what
about don’t distract me
i’m going to keep going why the enemy
gets exhausted trying to keep up with
your walk
i believe it’s a profound picture so
father i pray i pray again i’ve prayed
this
many times in the last couple years
take us in
to this kind of a season in prayer
where we truly see the unusual
not for entertainment’s sake but for the
name of jesus exalted in the earth for
the father to be honored throughout all
creation because your plan worked
i pray for that that you take every
person in this room and launch us into a
significance of prayer
unlike any other season
i want to just real quickly ask is there
anyone here that does not have a
personal relationship with jesus but you
want to know what it is to be forgiven
of god part of a family you want to know
what it is the bible calls it being born
against you become different from the
inside it’s a work of grace that he does
in us as a gift
if you want that you’re hungry for that
if you’re online let a pastor know
if you’re in one of the other rooms
let one of the pastors know if you’re in
this room way put a hand up in the air i
just want to see you right where you are
and i want to make agreement with you
because we’re going to believe god that
the miracle of a new creation for you
starts today
real quick
is there anyone in that in that position
all right
all right we’re going to assume you’re
all in we’re going to have a ministry
team down here ready to pray for people
are you coming up ruth come on up
yeah i’m so glad that you watched this
video i do pray that it’s a great great
strength and encouragement to you and
i’ve got a verse that it really is my
cry for all of us and it’s psalms 20
it’s verse 4
may he grant you your heart’s desire and
fulfill all your plans
that’s my prayer that’s my prayers that
this would be the season of rich rich
fulfillment
thanks for joining us