The Mystery of Unanswered Prayer
Matthew 26:36-46
This morning, I want to touch upon a subject that is real to all of us: The Mystery of Unanswered Prayer.
Most likely you will never know what it is to open the eyes of the blind. You probably will never know what it is to set the demon-possessed free. The chances are that you will never make the lame walk, to restore the leper or open the ears of the deaf. You will probably never know what it is to raise the dead to life. But Matthew 26:36=46 records an experience of Jesus that we can all relate to. Have experienced the mystery of unanswered prayer?
I would like for you to take your Bible and turn to Matthew 26:36-46. "Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, 'Sit here while I go and pray over there.' And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to b sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, 'My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.' He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, 'O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.' Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, 'What, could you not watch with Me one hour? 'Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.' He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, 'O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.' And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, 'Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, he who betrays Me is at hand."
We are not quite sure where Gethsemane was. We do know that it was on the Mount of Olives, just outside of Jerusalem. But there is a place high up on the Mount that the Greek Orthodox Church claim as the authentic place, while the Roman Catholics point to a place mid-way up the mountain.
Probably what is more important than where Gethsemane was, is what Gethsemane was. Literally the word means an "oil press." It was the place where olives were harvested and were placed under great bruising and pressure until precious oil flowed out of them.
Jesus was experiencing the pressure of the cross. And out of the crucible of the cross came the precious oil of salvation.
You're going to experience pressure in life. You are going to experience your own bruising, crushing Gethsemane, but out of it can flow precious oil.
No one sees the value of Gethsemane while they are in it. No one sees the value of the pressure, the bruising. But as we look back upon that experience -- once it's in the rear view mirror -- we see God wringing precious oil from it.
I must confess that my title was a little bit misleading. There really are no unanswered prayers. They only seem unanswered while we are in Gethsemane. It seems to me that there are at least four answers to prayer.

NO
Sometimes God's answer is "no." There is a pernicious and false doctrine filling our land today. From sea to sea, on radio and television, and in our pulpits, there is an easy, no-cross, soft, success-N-life gospel. This teaching says that if you will never suffer, and if you are suffering it is because you don't have enough faith. If that were true, then Jesus did not have enough faith, because God told Jesus "No."
Three times, Jesus asked the Father to "Let this cup pass from Me." Three times He was told "No, this cup shall not pass from You. I have a larger purpose. I have within my sights the redemption of all mankind. You shall certainly drink of this cup. In fact, You shall drink the cup down to the bitter dregs so that salvation will be complete. You shall drink the cup until You are able to say "It is finished, the price has been paid in full."
If God says "No" to your prayers does it mean that your prayers have fallen, defeated, to the floor? No, it means that God has something better in store for you.
That’s the way it was for Jesus. The Father looked beyond the cross to the resurrection. The Father looked beyond the cross to see salvation wrought for all mankind.
This is the way it was for the Apostle Paul. God had a higher purpose in mind when He told him "No." Listen to Paul: "And lest I should be exalted above measure . . . , a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me . . . . Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Cor. 12:7-10.
For a time, you might weep if God says "No" to you. But be comforted in this, that He said "No" because He has something better in store for you.
GO

Sometimes God's answer is "Go." I am old enough to remember the old Apollo space missions. I remember so well the announcer saying those words "T-Minus Ten. Nine. Eight -- you know, I always wondered what that T-Minus thing was about -- . Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Lift off. We have lift off. All Systems Go." Sometimes prayer is just like that. We pray and the answer comes dramatically, miraculously, and immediately.
In 1999 hurricane Brett was on a straight course for New Orleans. I was the pastor of Riverdale Baptist Church in Baton Rouge and we knew then that New Orleans could not withstand a direct hit from a hurricane. What happened during Katrina was foreknown. On a Sunday morning in August, I felt God leading us to pray that God would spare the city of New Orleans from a direct hit from Hurricane Brett. One of my deacons said "O.K. preacher, lets say God answers our prayer, what are we going to tell the people of Galveston or Beloxi, or Pensacola?" I didn't quite know how to answer that. Another one of my deacons said "Lets pray that God sends this hurricane where no one will lose their life and no one will lose their home." We agreed to that. At the close of the service we prayed that God would send Hurricane Brett where no one would lose life or home. At that very moment the hurricane took an -north-east course and went ashore on the King Ranch of Texas. As you know, there is virtually nothing there but cows and fences. They needed the rain, and no one lost life or home.
I'm not saying that God changed the course of Hurricane Brett because of our prayers. I know there were thousands of people praying about the course of that storm. But I am here to say that there is power in prayer. The course of a mighty hurricane is nothing in the hands of Almighty God. Here's a simple thought:: God Answers Prayer.
SLOW
Sometimes God's answer is No, sometimes its Go, but sometimes His answer is "Slow." He will answer the prayer, but in His time, not ours. Isaiah said:
"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is wear. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might he increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:28-31
God doesn't answer "slow" because of indifference. God is very concerned about us. In fact, He is so concerned that he is preparing circumstances to meet your need at this very moment. Jesus came in the fullness of time, when world conditions were just right. Jesus said "I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, to receive you unto Myself that where I am you may be also." He is preparing a place. The Bible says "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard the things that God has prepared for them that love Him." As a Sovereign God He has His own timing, and when the time is right, He'll answer your prayer.
When I was in my twenties I began to wonder if God would ever answer my prayer for a wife. A pastor has to be rather choosy about who he marries. I didn't get married until I was twenty-eight years old. What I didn't realize when I was twenty-four, was that God was preparing a young lady just for me, but I had to wait. You see, when I was twenty, Peggy was twelve. Now that may be OK for people in Arkansas, but you get arrested for things like that in Texas!
We used to have joint services with a black church in Baton Rouge. There was a lady there who used to sing -- and man could she sing -- she used to sing a song that said "He's an On Time God." Yes He is, He's an On-Time God.
We sing:
In His time, in His time
He makes all things beautiful in His time
Lord please show me everyday
That Your teaching me Your way
And You do just what You say
In Your time!
GROW
Sometimes God's answer is not No, or Go, or Slow, its GROW. Sometimes we, like Jacob, have to wrestle all night with God in prayer so that we might receive the blessing.
Remember Gethsemane? Remember it’s the pressure, the crushing, the bruising, that makes the precious oil.
There is a story told about a man raised in Northfield, Massachusetts. He worked hard, became successful, but grew tired of his national and international traveling. He began to miss the simple farm where he grew up, and he especially missed the well where they used to draw water. When he retired he bought back the old home place and built a new home just where his childhood home used to stand. One of the last things to be done was to dig a well. To keep someone from falling in, the old well had been filled in with bricks, bottles, stones, and dirt. He sent for the well-diggers and they started digging at the site of the old well. After clearing the well of most of the refuse, they finally they got to the bottom of the well and there was an old, rotten piece of carpet that someone had stuffed into the well. When they took up the carpet, the water began to flow again.
Sometimes God uses unanswered prayer to bring us to a point of yieldedness. He sees old carpets of unbelief, reserve, and bitterness. He wants to remove these things so that His Spirit can flow within us again.
Yes, sometimes God's answer is "GROW." Do you remember Paul? God told Him to grow. Listen to him again: "Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
Alto High School won state in football this year. Our head coach is a strong believer in pulling tires. He had those boys pulling tires up and down the field. Tires for a warm up, tires for a cool down . . tires, tires, tires. It wasn't very high-tech, but it was awfully successful. Alto was undefeated and the first string never played in the fourth quarter. Nobody ever came close to beating Alto. At the Championship Celebration Coach Gardner told the boys "Now you know why you had to pull those tires, don't you!"
God has great plans for you. If He makes you bear a load it may be that he is preparing you for a great victory. Maybe God is saying "Grow."
CONCLUSION
I want you to know something. The ears of God are trained upon you. He listens to your every sigh, your every prayer has already passed His ear and entered His heart. None of your prayers will ever fall to the ground. Like a woman with her love letters, God treasures them all. Whether the answer is No, Go, Slow, or Grow, God loves you. He is listening intently for your cry He is going to do what is right. Just trust Him.
There may be one here this morning, and you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, this is a wonderful day . . . a wonderful day . . . for you to receive Him as your savior. The Bible says "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." We know what the answer to that prayer shall be. It will be GO. Now. In the day, in the very moment that you call, He'll answer your prayer. You won't have to wait on God. He's waiting on you to call upon Him today.
There may be someone here today and God has shown you that you have sin that is keeping you from growing in Christ. You want to get rid of that sin so that God can bless you. "Here I am Lord, I'm coming. I'm yielding."
And there may be one . . . a very special one . . . a family or a couple or a one somebody . . . you feel God calling you to be a part of this dear church. You come. Come the moment we begin to sing. And God will bless you for it.