If God Doesn't Answer, Should I Keep Praying?

When God doesn't answer your prayer, when should you quit praying for something? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. We would love to hear from you, and our phone lines will be open for the next 25 minutes or so if you have a question. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. As always, you can post your question on one of our social media sites, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can also watch us live on YouTube and you can email us with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com.

First up today, let's go to Josh in Granite City, Illinois. Josh, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yeah, my question is in Matthew 24, verse 20, when Jesus says, And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. Why is Jesus putting winter with or on the Sabbath together?

What do you mean by that? Yeah, thank you for that question, Josh, and it's really important that we understand the context here and specifically what it is that Jesus is trying to address. If you go back to the beginning of Matthew chapter 24, Jesus is speaking with his disciples. He answered them, and he's talking about the temple here.

He says, You see all these things, do you? Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. Because the disciples had looked at the temple and they were just marveling at how beautiful it was, and Jesus says, Look, this thing is going to be torn down. And as he sat at the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, Tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age.

So there's really two questions there. He had just told them this temple is going to be torn down. And they asked him, Okay, well, when is that going to happen? And when is your second coming, the sign of your coming? And so you sort of have these two things here in Matthew chapter 24 that Jesus is addressing. And in particular, when he's referring to not fleeing in winter on the Sabbath, verse 20, what you were referring to, I think he's talking about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple that's going to happen in 70 AD. He's preparing his disciples for what would take place.

Let me just read verse 20 again. He says, Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. Now, why not in winter on the Sabbath? Well, I don't know where it is that you're at in particular, Josh, but here where I live in San Diego, when we have bad weather, everyone does a really bad job driving and there are car accidents everywhere.

When you get weather, travel is a lot more difficult, isn't it? And Jesus is referring to this cataclysmic event that's going to happen, this siege of Jerusalem. And he's telling his disciples, Get out of the city, get out of Jerusalem and pray that it's not in the winter because travel is very hard in the winter and pray that it's not on the Sabbath because a lot of things are shut down during the Sabbath, the gates are closed. And so he's telling his disciples to prepare for this coming destruction, not one stone being left upon another, the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. It's really this amazing prophecy. I mean, it just shows that Jesus is the Lord, that he knows all things. And he's preparing them for this and he's saying, Look, pray that when it happens, it's not winter and it's not on the Sabbath so that you can get out of the city.

Thank you for your question, Josh. You know, historically, what happened to Israel, to Jerusalem and to the Jews in 70 AD was horrible. I mean, if you read some of the accounts of what occurred then, it was just, you said cataclysmic. I mean, just the people were, it was torture. I mean, it was terrible.

It was terrible. And I mean, we have some historical accounts given by Josephus, who was an ancient Jewish historian. And as he describes the siege of Jerusalem, I mean, terrible is the only way to believe it was horrific. And so, and that's what Jesus was prophesying, a part of what Jesus was prophesying about there in Matthew 24. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, you can call us right now at 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to Paul in Johnston, Rhode Island. Paul, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hello, Pastor? Hey, Paul. I am trying to determine if there's any scripture that addresses a sleep that we can use, because I have an attack at night when I try to sleep, and I know it's not anything but evil. Yeah.

Well, one, I'm sorry to hear that. You know, I think about sleep and the rest that God can give to his people. You know, the psalm is said in Psalm 127, verse 2, It is vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil, for he gives to his beloved sleep. In other words, the people of God can truly rest in him.

And he gives us ultimate, I mean, in Christ, in Jesus, we find the rest, essentially, that God offers to people through the forgiveness of sins. But there's that deep soul rest that we're meant to find in the Lord. Now, what about those nights or those times where we feel like we're under a demonic attack?

Maybe, I mean, I don't know exactly what it looks like for you in particular, but it sounds like something really serious. Well, I would point you, Paul, to Ephesians, chapter 6, beginning in verse 10, where St. Paul, where the Apostle Paul talks about putting on the armor of God. And maybe that's something that you'll want to do, not just at the beginning of the day, but even at the end of the day. As you prepare to go to sleep and you're saying your prayers and you're coming before the Lord, listen to what the Apostle Paul said, Ephesians 6, 10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God. And then Paul begins to describe the various pieces of that armor, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit, the shield of faith. Really, the pieces are all gifts that God gives to us. The righteousness, the righteousness of Christ, faith. Faith is a gift given to us by the Lord. The sword of the spirit, the word of God. These are things, Paul, that God gives to you. Clothe yourself in them. Maybe meditating on God's word and praying as you prepare to go to sleep will be something that can help you.

So that's what I would encourage. And so Ephesians chapter six, you also think of James four, I believe it's verse seven, where James said, resist the devil and he will flee. Set your mind on God, on his word, on Christ.

Pray. And may the Lord give you peace as you sleep, brother. Thanks, Paul. We appreciate your question.

This is Core Christianity. By the way, we want to say a huge thank you to our listeners who have joined what we call our inner core. Your financial support makes this program possible. And when you join the inner core for your gift of twenty five dollars a month or more, you receive exclusive content, including some special video devotions from Pastor Adriel and the book Core Christianity, which with this program was founded on by Dr. Michael Horton, theology professor.

There are some other great benefits as well. So check it out by going to our Web site, core Christianity dot com. Just look for the donate link and find out about becoming a member of the inner core. Let's go to Steve from Enid, Oklahoma. Steve, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yes, hello.

Hey, Steve, what's your question, brother? About seven years ago, my wife and I had been going to church since we were 14 years old. We met at our youth group and I'm in my late 50s now, but.

She's my second wife, so we didn't see each other for a long, long time, but about seven years ago, we got married about 11 years ago. But we were going to the church together and the pastor left and it was on the good times. It was just, you know, his cycle out, but we just didn't care for the second pastor that elevated to the position. And my question is, we have not been going to church yet. I'm at peace with it. And I want to know, I do have Christian co-workers and I want to know, I do get that fellowship from that. And my wife and I just enjoy our Sundays together.

And I just, I'm alarmed that I'm not alarmed. Yeah. Can you understand it that way? Yeah, I understand what you're saying and I hope I can be an encouragement to you. Do you need to be in church on Sunday as a Christian? It sounds like you're saying, I have Christian fellowship and friends and me and my wife, you know, we sort of know all that stuff and we enjoy our Sunday mornings.

Do we really need to be in church? Well, the first thing I would say to you, Steve, is God is the one who calls us into his presence. When we're united to Jesus Christ by faith, we're not just united to the Lord of the whole earth, right, to God himself by the gift of the Holy Spirit. He also unites us to his body, that is, other believers. And it's so important for us to have fellowship with local churches because it's through that, through that, in that context, that the Lord begins to continue to build us up in our own faith and strengthen us.

And God has gifted you, Steve, and your wife, in ways for you guys to be a blessing. I think of what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. You know, he talks about how the church is a body, and in a body, right, you have these various parts. Not everybody is a hand, not everybody is a foot, not everybody is an eye.

And the body is only healthy as all the parts are coming together and working together as one. And when I talk to believers, when I talk to Christians who aren't in local churches, I say, well, you're sort of like a severed hand or eye out there on your own. You know, that makes the spiritual life very difficult because God calls us, one, to worship him, to draw near to his presence. This is something you see from the earliest days, the disciples of Jesus Christ meeting on the first day of the week, gathering together to break bread, to hear the apostles teaching. But no individual, you are not, I am not by myself, the body of Christ, I'm a part of the body.

And if I'm a part of the body, or a local church, I need to be engaged in that body. I think of also the exhortation that the author of the Hebrews gave in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 10. And keep in mind, Steve, that this book, this letter of the New Testament was written to a group of Christians who were being tempted to depart from church fellowship, from the local congregation, from the gospel really. And the author of the Hebrews says in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 23, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another all the more as you see the day drawing near. I want to encourage you, don't neglect to meet together with other believers. The New Testament just sort of assumes that if you're a Christian, you're in a local church where there's structure, you know, elders and deacons. Paul talks about this in first Timothy three, Titus chapter one, people who actually in the elders case are going to have to give an account for you.

They're called to watch over your soul. We need this. We need this. You need this.

I need this. If you're a Christian, you ought to be a member of a local church gathering together with other believers to be fed with the word of God. Now, I get that a lot of people, it sounds like you had a rough experience, you know, with this sort of transition of pastors. I understand that. I know that there are a lot of people who have been hurt by the church and feel like, I just don't want to go back.

I had this negative experience. Well, look, Jesus is still working in and through the church and faithful churches, Steve, that are committed to the word of God, preaching the gospel, submitted to the authority of Christ. We should join ourselves to those churches to grow with other believers. It's not always easy.

You know, many times on a Sunday morning, we'd rather just sleep in or, you know, have brunch, do that kind of a thing. But God calls you, my friend, to worship him. And he's gifted you to be a blessing to the body of Christ. And he's gifted others to be a blessing to you and your wife as well. And so I hope that you'll hear that encouragement and that exhortation from scripture, from me.

And I really do thank you for giving us a call. May the Lord bless your day. Steve, we have a couple of core questions for you that will be helpful if you go to our website. One is called, do I have to attend church to be a Christian? And the other one's called, how do I choose a church if you decide you want to look for a different church in your community? And you can find those by going to coreChristianity.com forward slash questions.

Again, how do I choose a church and do I have to attend church to be a Christian? A couple of great core questions. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez and Summer just around the corner and a lot of kids are going to be out of school for a few months. And just in time for summer, we have a great free resource for families.

Yes. The resource is called 10 Verses to Memorize as a Family this summer. And I was just going over the 10 verses that are given again this morning. Really, really helpful verses that focus on God as creator, God as redeemer. Help us understand the role of the word of God in our lives. Some of the fundamentals that we think is just so important for you to understand as a follower of Jesus and to pass on to the people around you, in particular, if you have children. I mean, this is a great resource for you to go through with your children, helping them grow in their understanding of the Christian faith, who God is so that they might love him and walk with him. This is a free resource and you can find it by going to coreChristianity.com forward slash offers. Again, it's called 10 Verses to Memorize as a Family this summer. And you can also call us for that resource or any one of our resources at 833-843-2673.

That number is 833, the core. Well, let's go to a voicemail we received from one of our listeners named Stacy. My question is, is it ever wrong to keep praying for something to happen? There are a couple of things that I have been praying for for years now, and I'm wondering if God just wants me to stop praying for those things and just be content with my current life circumstances. Or is it okay to keep praying for those things to happen? Hey, Stacy, thank you for that question. I know that you're not the only one who has that question, so I just want to speak to you listening right now, and you've been praying for something for months, years maybe, and you feel like the Lord has not answered you.

And you're wondering with Stacy, is it just time to quit? Is God just not going to hear this prayer? Now, of course, there are things that we can pray that go against God's word and are not in line with his will. And in that sense, I would say, well, yeah, we're not to pray those things. So if what we're praying for leads to our spiritual destruction, if we're asking God for something that he knows will harm us, well, we have to be careful there. But Jesus seems to suggest in the New Testament that we should not, and he does explicitly suggest, that we should not lose heart in prayer.

And he tells a story in order to communicate this. He says in Luke chapter 18, verse 1, he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. See, God knows, Jesus knows that our temptation is to lose heart in prayer. When we don't get the answer that we want right away, he said, in a certain city, there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man, and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, give me justice against my adversary. For a while he refused, but afterwards he said to himself, though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. And the Lord said, hear what the unrighteous judge says, and will not God give justice to his elect who cried to him day and night?

Will he delay long over them? And Jesus' point is, look, if that unrighteous judge, because of the persistence of this widow, was willing to grant her request, how much more will God, who is good, he cares for you, he cares for his children? How much more will he listen to you? He hears your prayers, continue to seek, to ask, to knock.

Now maybe there comes a point where he just says no, where the answer is no, and it's very clear, and you think, okay, maybe it's time to set this aside. But if you haven't received that answer from the Lord in any clear sense, well, I would say continue to pray. And if what you're praying for is something that is honoring to the Lord, I think of the salvation of family members or your own sanctification, you know, that kind of a thing.

We know that those things are God's will, that God is for those things, and so don't lose heart. Continue to pray. Be like that persistent widow going before the Lord and saying, do you hear me? I'm back here again, Lord, hear my prayer.

And he does trust in him. God bless you. Thank you for that call. Stacy, thanks so much for your voicemail. You can always leave us a voicemail 24 hours a day by calling us at 833-THE-CORE. You can also record your message at our website, which is corechristianity.com. Just look for the little microphone icon there. Click on that and leave your message.

And again, you can do that any time, day or night. You can also email us a question at questions at corechristianity.com. Here's one from David. He says, Have Old Testament promises that God made to the nation of Israel been fulfilled by the new covenant introduced by Jesus? Or are their promises yet to be fulfilled to this group identified as God's chosen people?

If so, what are some examples? That's a really good question. We're thinking about here how to understand the sort of flow of redemptive history and in particular the promises that were made in the Old Testament, who those promises apply to. Well, the first thing I'll say is Jesus is the ultimate true Israelite, if you will. I mean, he came as the Son of God, the true vine, as he says in John 15.

The vine was a picture for Israel in the Old Testament. And the promises of God find their fulfillment, their fullness in him. This is what Paul said in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 20. For all the promises of God find their yes in him, that is, in Jesus. That is why it is through him that we utter our amen to God for his glory. The promises of God, those promises that were made to Israel, Jesus is the true Israel.

Those promises are fulfilled in him. In fact, this is something that the apostle Paul says specifically in the book of Galatians. In Galatians chapter 3, beginning in verse 15, this is really important, listen to this.

To give a human example, brothers, even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say and to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one and to your offspring who is Christ. Now Paul says right there very clearly, the promises that were made to the patriarchs, the promises that were made to Abraham and to his offspring, you know where those find their fullness, their fulfillment in Jesus.

He is the offspring, the seed of the woman from Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 who would crush the head of the serpent. So he is the true Israelite and in him, if you are in Jesus Christ by faith, you're a part of the family of God. The promises of God, even those promises that we see in the Old Testament apply to you and ultimately many of those promises were sort of these types, these pictures of a greater and fuller reality. You know, the promise of the land of Canaan in the Old Testament, it was a picture of the heavenly rest, the heavenly Jerusalem. That's what the author of the Hebrew says in Hebrews chapter 11. And so it's so important that we understand this. Christ received is the recipient of all of those promises and in Jesus, brothers and sisters, you and I are the heirs of those promises as well.

Isn't that amazing? When you read the Old Testament, brothers and sisters, you're reading your family history. When you read about Abraham and Paul says later in Galatians, we are the children of Abraham by faith in Jesus Christ.

This is our family. These are our promises and we receive them in Jesus Christ. What a wonderful hope. Now, are there still things, more things to be fulfilled for the Hebrew people, for the Israelites? Some people will point to Romans chapter 11.

I think that's a good text to go to where it talks about this great sort of revival among the ethnic Jews, specifically referring to the time of the end. And so I think that that's something that we can look at, but there is no hope for anyone Jew or Gentile outside of Jesus Christ. All of the promises of God find their yes in him. That's what Paul says again.

Second Corinthians one. And so it's in Jesus that Jews and Gentiles experience that grace and receive our recipients of the great promises that God has given to his people. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

Let's go to a voicemail we received from one of our callers yesterday. I think I'd like to know who is the Lord in the Old Testament and Jesus, the Lord in the New Testament? That's the same Lord. And also my other question is, who in Genesis is speaking about when he says that we were all in the garden and we created man in the likeness of our own image? Who is we? Who is we? Thank you so much.

I appreciate your time. Yeah, great question. So in the Old Testament, the word Lord oftentimes translates either the divine name in Hebrew, Yahweh, and frequently it'll be in all capitals when you see it in the English Bible in the Old Testament. In all capitals it's translating the divine name or the Hebrew word Adonai, Lord. And oftentimes in the New Testament when that word is applied to Jesus, Lord, it's quoting from the Old Testament. So yes, Jesus is the Lord, the Lord God Almighty. The New Testament writers made that very clear. And so oftentimes we're referring to God. It's referring to God, referring to Jesus there. And then in terms of the we, my position is in the Book of Genesis, in the early chapters of Genesis, that refers to the divine counsel, the angels there with God as he created all things for his glory and for our good. Thanks for that question. God bless. We'll be right back.