Prayer is an important and foundational component of the Christian life. It is the way we communicate with God. Prayer consists of fellowship with God, praise and worship, lament and repentance. The most familiar aspect of prayer is petition or asking prayer. I would like to unpack this subject of asking prayer by discussing three Biblical words that address the issue. They are delight, abide and seek.
Delight
One of the questions many people have about prayer is whether or not God always answers our prayers. Before I address this, let me first lay some groundwork. Let me first talk about the word delight.
Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” ESV
We all want for God to give us the desires of our heart, but do we delight in Him? The definition of “delight” according to Merriam-Webster is to take great pleasure in or to give keen enjoyment. So we are to take great joy in our relationship with Jesus. The Hebrew word for “delight” is “anag”. One of the meanings of this ancient word is to be soft or pliable. This means we conform to God’s mold for us. We should bend before the Lord and His word.
If we take delight in the Lord in these ways, He will give us the desires of our hearts. But there is another important point I’d like to make concerning delighting in the Lord. When we find our enjoyment in Him and when we allow Him to change us, He makes His desires our desires. After He gives us His desires, we pray for them to come to pass. And after we pray, He gives us what we ask for.
Abide
So of the three words we are discussing – delight, abide and seek, I would like to look at the word “abide” and see how it relates to our prayer life and especially answered prayer.
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7 NKJV
The word “abide” also means remain or to continue, to wait, and not to depart – a remaining in God’s presence or staying in a love relationship with the Lord throughout the day. It is living in His presence and living in His word. This is not perfection. Instead, it is a goal for us to lean towards.
This scripture brings into focus the importance of shaping our requests with God’s promises and with His commands. If we desire something from God we must be sure there is a promise in the Bible that supports our request. We can speak that promise back to God in prayer. For instance, if I am suffering from a back ache, I can tell the Lord that according to His word, He is the God that heals me (Exodus 15:26).
The scriptures also shape us, and while they shape us, they change the way we pray. For instance, spending time in God’s word can help us to be more content. When we are content in life, we may not ask God for the same things.
Spending time in God’s word also helps us to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit. This means we can grow in our discernment. We can grow in knowing what to pray for. God answers Spirit-led prayers with a yes.
Seek
So we are left with the third word from our list of delight, abide and seek. This of course is the word “seek”. When we seek something we make a strong effort to find it. We also may let go of other things to achieve the object of our desire. When a skipper steers a ship in the direction of her destination she rules out other possible places in the process.
One of my favorite scriptures is Matthew 6:33. It says, But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. NIV
In the context of this scripture, Jesus is teaching saying we often worry that we don’t have things such as food and clothing. Worry is a sin. One of the antidotes to the sin of worry is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. God’s kingdom can be translated as God’s rule and God’s way of doing things. His righteousness is the right way as outlined in God’s word.
When we strive to put God first, all these things will be added to us. He will answer our prayers.
So we have looked at the concepts surrounding the words delight, abide and seek. I would like to encourage you to take what I have said to heart. I will do the same.
Answered Prayer
The question still remains, “Does God answer all our prayers?” I believe that if you can support a prayer request with scripture, and if you are rightly-related to Jesus, you should persist in prayer, believing for the answer. God always answers prayer either with yes, wait, no or He gives us something better.
I hope your finding joy in your journey with Jesus. Let’s put into practice the Lord’s commands to delight, abide and seek. Our lives will be richer for it, and we will see God answer many of our prayers.
