Answered Prayer
Introduction
Some might think ‘what is the benefit of the Old Testament’?
The story of Jacob is about family
It starts with a dysfunctional family – the dad favours one son and the mother favours another son
It begins with division
We hear of murder and lies
Like families in the 21st century
We learn about things relevant to today:
The dysfunctional heart of man
Reap what you sow
Divine encounters with God
Love
Personal crises
Answered prayer
Do you wonder if God answers prayer?
It is my prayer that God will speak to our hearts
Waiting for Answered Prayer
Jacob’s Ancestry
We might be surprised when we read about this family
This should remind us that things are not automatic
Consider Cain and Abel, Esau and Jacob
It is rare to have whole families united in God
Chap 25 concludes the death of Abraham and our story begins with Jacob
His wife Rebekah is barren (v21)
Consider the promise made to Abraham regarding his descendants
You might think his grandson would be automatically blessed and have an easy life
You might think it would be easy for his wife to have children
Jacob married age 40 and the children were born when he was age 60 (v26)
Isaac’s faith was tested for 20 years
Would he follow the ways of Abraham?
He did not but pleaded with the Lord (v21)
How are we at waiting for answered prayer? – examples
Isaac was not a fatalistic man
He earnestly pleaded with God
There is a dangerous form of Christianity – ‘God has said it and therefore he will do it without us having to do anything’
God’s silence was an invitation for Isaac and Rebekah to pray
We must pray for God’s will to be done
We see examples of those who had to wait for children:
Abraham and Sarah with Isaac
Hannah with Samuel
The mother of Sampson
Elizabeth with John the Baptist
All significant people in the history of the Bible – all had to wait, all would in time say their child was a gift from God
The longer we wait (for answered prayer)
The more joy we have
The more glory goes to God
Do we take glory to ourselves or fail to recognise God’s answer to prayer?
As a church:
We prayed for a worker – it took 3 years
Families to come in, for conversions
In our personal life:
Personal example re Mozambique
Psalm 27:14
Praying for a spouse, praying for children?
Wait and trust in the Lord
Understand Answered Prayer (v22-23)
The prayer was answered – but not all was well (v22)
There is a struggle inside her
The answer is not always pain free
She inquires of the Lord and has an unusual answer (v23)
Two nations – the Edomites and the Israelites
The younger will serve the older – against the custom of the time
She understands that something vast is going to happen with the birth of her twin babies
Do we understand answers to prayer?
Answers belong to the Lord
God may not work as we expect
Acts 2 – “to all the Lord will call”
Rom 9 – God is sovereign, has compassion and mercy on those whom He pleases
We are to accept God’s answers and purposes
Accepting the Outcome of Answered Prayer (v24-27)
Reading v24-27
The differences between them:
Easu the hairy / Jacob the supplanter
Easu was an outdoor man / Jacob was an indoor man
Their parents had to accept their differences and love them both equally
Bring them up aright and not let divisions arise between them
But Isaac loved Esau
Esau provided for him
Do we love our children because they satisfy our emotional needs?
Rebekah loved Jacob
There was favouritism – Rebekah encouraged Jacob to do things he not to have done
We see parents who ought to have known better
Yet they brought problems into the family with their parenting
They did not accept the outcome of God’s prayer
Isaac did not accept Jacob for who he was
Rebekah should have accepted Esau equally
We must accept the outcome of answered prayer
Not making the answer more important than the One who answers
We are not to make the answer more important than God
We are not to forget to give God the glory
We are not to make idols of answered prayer (e.g. our children)
God should be put first in all things
Closing Remarks
Summary of points
What has this to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ?
We are flawed sinners who need the grace of God
God forgives all our sins – if we call out to Him
We will see God’s unstoppable grace and divine interventions of a God working out His purposes – in the story of Jacob
Trust in God and His Son Jesus Christ