Just One Banana

(Part II) 

It has been said that prayer is the believer’s vital breath and dynamic working force.  It has also been said that prayer is the highest exercise of the human intellect.  

At the end of a speech, President “Ike” Eisenhower once impressed upon his listeners that, “Prayer is still the mightiest force in the world and, when used by dedicated men and women, nothing in this world remains impossible.” 

Considering that prayer is an honoring communion with the Creator of All and that through prayer, God gives us the privilege to be included in His actions upon the earth, I would have to strongly agree with every one of the previous statements.  

Prayer truly is the most powerful force on earth, and, accordingly then, is the believer’s most formidable weapon, yet it is probably the most neglected and disregarded aspect of many Christians’ lives (myself included, which is why I started writing this article).  

I have heard many excuses to defend the lack of prayer in a believer’s life.  Some of the most often used and widely repeated include, “Why pray when God is in control and already knows what we need before we ask?”, “God doesn’t hear my prayers”, and “God is silent and never answers my prayers” (I, myself, have used all of them a time or two).  

So how do we address those excuses?  

The answer:  Step by step with the Word of God.  

Firstly, according to Scripture, it is a sin to not pray. 

“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.”  1 Samuel‬ ‭12:23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“pray continually,”

‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Obviously, prayerlessness is a sin.  Furthermore, we are instructed to pray continually so unless we are always in an attitude of prayer, due to inversional omission, we are sinning.

Secondly, it is true that the Father knows what we need before we ask (Ref.  Mathew 6:8).  He is omniscient — all knowing. 

“Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.” Psalms‬ ‭139:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

But it is also true that, “we have not, because we ask not!” (Ref. James 4:2).  

Thirdly, God is in control and His sovereignty should never be in question.

“Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭115:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

But in His extraordinary and magnificent ways, He has allowed us to participate in His actions through prayer.  

Edward McKendree Bounds (1835 –1913), best known as E.M. Bounds, was a Methodist clergy, an attorney, and a well known writer.  Amongst his writings, he authored nine books on the subject of prayer.  He penned many thought provoking statements worthy of attention, but a brief one that declares much is, “God shapes the world by prayer.”  

There are multiple events in the Bible that would never have happened without prayer.  

Example 1:  

The demon-possessed girl would never have been made whole if her mother had not cried out to Jesus (Ref. Mark 7:24-30).  

Example 2:  

The blind man outside Jericho cried, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

Jesus stopped and asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man replied, “I want to see.”  

Jesus said, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you!”  (Ref. Luke 18:35-43)

Would either of those events happened without calling out to Jesus?

Fourthly, it is NOT true that God doesn’t hear our prayers.  God hears every one of His childrens’ prayers.  Every one!

“The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭15:29‬ ‭NIV‬‬ 

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34:17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:12‬ ‭NIV‬‬ 

Fifthly, God answers prayer.  He either answers “yes”, “no”, or “not yet”.  Like an onion, there are several layers involved with addressing the excuse of “God is silent and never answers prayers.”  

Number one:  

Our prayers won’t even go beyond the ceiling if we have unconfessed sin in our lives.

“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭66:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭59:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Therefore, unresolved selfishness, bitterness, discord, and unforgiveness of others will make our prayers stutter, stumble, stall, and fall right from the start.  No wonder so many of our prayers get the “silent” treatment! 

Number two:

We must understand that God is not a genie in a bottle.  That being the case, unreasonable selfishness like asking for one million dollars or a fancy sports car will get a quick “no”, or, more likely, “silence” because we are offering a prayer based on the wrong motives.

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James‬ ‭4:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Why would God answer a prayer that obviously goes against what He has already commanded us not to do in His Word?

If we continually pray with the wrong motivation, we will become very disappointed.  Nothing but silence!

Number three:

Prayer was never intended to align God to our will, but to align us to His will.  

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭5:14‬ ‭NIV‬‬ 

According to His will, not ours — that’s the key.  The best way to get a prayer answered then, is to be aligned to His will.  And the fastest way to get a “yes” answer to prayer is to ask for the things He has already promised in His Holy Word  (I.e. Wisdom, strength, forgiveness....). 

Prayers for self-glorification or self-edification will likely crash on the floor.  If, however, we pray for needs that will glorify God or allow the glorification of God through us or help deliver the gospel to attentive ears then an “affirm” answer becomes much more likely.  

Number four:  

Effectual prayer must be accompanied by faith. 

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.”

‭‭James‬ ‭1:6-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Prayer is an interesting multifaceted subject — hence the reason there are thousands of books on the subject.  There are many conditionals for effective prayer, but we should never make it so complicated that it becomes cumbersome.  There is a wonderful peace to be found just walking and talking with the Savior in a sincere child-like faith.  Yet, we do ourselves and others a huge disservice and ratchet-up our frustration level when we oversimplify prayer.  Prayer is not simple (the length of this article supports that fact).  Unfortunately, in recent generational times including inside churches, we have clamored for more entertainment and distractions and less time on our knees.  As a result, prayer has been slighted and whittled down to mere minutes in a day.  Effectual, fervent, and productive prayer is much more than passing a want-list to God.  Prayer that changes lives is a time commitment with a lot of labor intensive work.  In the truest sense, dedicated and faithful saints earn their distinguished titles as “prayer warriors” because the most successful prayers are very much like wrestling matches before God.

“Prayer in its highest form and grandest success assumes the attitude of a wrestler with God.” E. M. Bounds

On the “other side” of prayer, beyond our bowed heads, uttered words, and uplifted hearts — within the spiritual realm, there are many things we cannot fully comprehend.  There are spiritual battles raging that can delay answers to our prayers.  In point of fact, the spiritual struggle, beyond what we see, is very real.  

In the Book of Daniel, we are offered a glimpse at the “other side” and the ongoing battles.  In the tenth chapter of the Book, we are told that Daniel set his mind to gain the understanding of a revelatory message he had received.  He persistently fasted and prayed for three weeks with no forthcoming answer (wrestling match, indeed).  Finally, after the third week was over, Daniel received a vision and an angel declared, “Do not be afraid, Daniel.  Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.  But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days.  Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.”  (Ref. Daniel‬ 10:12-13‬).

That is a very revealing glance into the spiritual realm that gives us some significant insight to the “other side” of prayer.  Daniels’ words were heard on the first day, but it took twenty-one days and the extra help of Michael, the chief prince, for the answer to get through!

We must never forget that we are at war with the principalities of darkness — the evil forces in the spiritual realm.  Therefore, we must do our part in prayer.  We must be persistent and patient.  Honestly, God could have provided an answer, but Satan and his minions might be working overtime to prevent the answer from coming through.  How do we handle that?  We keep praying and confidently proclaim victory through Christ.  The answer will come.  Don’t give up! 

Some prayers need only be asked.  Others require more effort and time and must be sought.  Still, others require much persistence and patience with repetitious knocking on heaven’s door.  That is exactly why Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  (Ref. Luke‬ ‭11:9-10‬). 

The “icing on the cake” is that whether God answers “yes”, “no”, or “not yet”, we can trust and rest assured that, in all things, He works for the good of those who love Him.  (Ref.  Romans 8:28)

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬ 

It was impossible!  There was no way a condemned prisoner of war would even get just one banana.  There was no one that would dare defy the Kenpeitai — the Japanese secret police that specialized in silencing political opposition.  

Although she had only been a missionary sharing the gospel to the people of Baliem Valley, New Guinea, and had never conducted espionage in her life, the Kenpeitai weren’t interested in the truth.  They intended to take her head.  

Like cockroaches, the evil Kenpeitai members thrived in their dark and despicable interrogation chambers.  With incredible power and overruling authority, they were nearly untouchable which allowed them to unleash sadistic and brutal torture methods.  Much like the Nazi Germany Gestapo, the Kenpeitai ruled via fear and intimidation.  No one stood in their way.  To defy them meant certain death.  

With trepidation, she heard the footsteps of the guard approaching her cell door.  The rattle and fumbling of the key in the lock cemented her fears.  They had come for her.  She would be beaten for sure.  They would start with a cane and finish with their hands.  Their favorite move was a karate chop to the base of her skull sending star-blazing pain through all her extremities.  And then a sword would be unsheathed, she knew.  She was finished emotionally and physically.  In silent agony, she screamed, “Lord, I can’t take anymore!”  

The guard pushed open the door.  She cringed.  He smiled.  Then, suddenly, with a sweeping gesture of delight, he laid ninety-two bananas at her feet and then left.

In astonished disbelief, she wept.  “Lord, forgive me; I’m so ashamed.  I couldn’t trust You enough for even just one banana.”  

God whispered to her heart, “That’s what I delight to do, My child —the exceeding abundance above anything you ask or think.”  

She knew then that nothing was impossible for her God! 

P.S.  

That amazing faith-filled missionary woman was named Darlene Deibler Rose.  I have intentionally left out much of her dramatic story and certain key elements of the banana event because I feel that everyone should read her book, “Evidence Not Seen”.  It is a book that redefines humble, sincere, dedicated, devout, and prayer-filled faith — a degree of faith that is a rarity, but deeply needed today!

“Ohhh, though God slay me, yet will I trust in Him...”.  

Read the book and let the resulting internal challenges of faith commence.

Blessings, Tad.