Archive Story | Elevator Buttons - Episode 26
Key Takeaways
- Just like repeatedly pushing an elevator button, we often make the mistake of praying for the exact same thing over and over again out of a fear that God didn't hear us the first time.
- When we focus on praying in faith, we can trust 1 John 5:15 to know that God hears us and that our requests are already granted as present possessions.
- Instead of bombarding God with the same repetitive requests, the faith-filled approach is to thank Him, praise Him for the answer, and rest in His promises while patiently waiting for the process to complete.
- The parable of the unjust judge in Luke 18 highlights a contrast rather than a method; the widow had to keep ringing the bell because the judge was unjust, whereas our loving heavenly Father hears us instantly.
- Asking once and leaving it to God does not mean you stop communicating with Him; rather, you continue to share your heart, love, and joy with Him just as you would a trusted friend.
Originally written June 24, 2011
posted here: https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/06/24/elevator-buttons/
Elevator Buttons
It is hard to resist. You know, pushing an elevator button more than once.
We push the button, and nothing happens. So we look at it long and hard. It is lit, but nothing is happening that we can see, anyway.
So, we push the button again. It must not have ‘heard’ us the first time. Sometimes we get really frustrated and push it over and over very hard. That should make the elevator hurry!
Yet we know that whether an elevator is fast or slow, once the electronic signal has been sent to retrieve the elevator, the process is in motion. It will come, but must work through its system or processes that gets it to us.
Even knowing this, we still can’t resist the urge to push the button again and again.
I think that sometimes our prayers are like that.
We pray and ask God for something. Then, in a little bit, we pray again. Then, in a day or so, we pray again. And we keep praying.
1 John 5:15 (Amplified Bible)
15 And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.
The scripture above says that He listens to us and hears us when we pray. So when we pray again, do we think He did not hear us? So we pray again, just in case… and again…
But I believe we should pray once, and since we positively know that He heard us, then we should be settled, knowing that we have been granted our request.
Just because we have become a microwave society and expect instant results when a button is pushed, we expect instant results when we pray. It doesn’t mean that God has said no. It doesn’t mean that God has not heard us. I just mean that we must have faith and patiently wait for the process that God desires to grant our prayers to be complete.
It takes faith to push that elevator button one time and know that it will come. But sometimes I think we have more faith in the elevator coming than we do in God granting us our prayers.
Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified Bible)
6 But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists, and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].
The verse above says that without faith, it is impossible to please God. What that is saying to me is that we pray, then because we know He has heard us, we believe He will give us what we have prayed for. If we truly believe that, then we will not ask for it again.
Ouch! That hurt even me!
So in the meantime, while we are patiently waiting, the faith-filled thing to do is—thank Him. Thank Him, we know He has heard us. Thank Him that because we know He heard us, He will send the answer to our prayers.
As you thank Him and praise Him for sending the answer, see yourself or the person you are praying for as if the answer has come.
The kingdom of God is backwards to natural man. They want to see it, then they will believe it.
God says, believe it, then you will see it.
So today, when you pray…
Know that God had heard your cry.
Know that he is answering your prayers.
Praise Him for sending the answer.
See your answer.
Rest in Him.
ADDEDUM
After reading a few comments below, I thought I had left this post unfinished. So, to elaborate just a bit more, let me add the following.
This blog came to me as I was lying on the sofa and had just prayed for something. I lay there a minute or two longer, and the same prayer I had just prayed bubbled up within me. Then, after a lengthy 5 or 10 minutes more, the same prayer came to mind, and as I uttered it I distinctly heard, ‘elevator buttons’.
It was at that moment that the entire blog came rushing into my spirit. God was showing me I was doing just as I described above, pushing the same button repeatedly.
In my case, it was because I didn’t know what else to say. I knew he had heard, but my mind was focused on the subject and my need, and not on the fact that God had heard and was answering.
As this blog came rushing to me, the scripture in Luke 18 regarding the woman ringing the bell over and over again came to my mind. After all, I had used this scripture in my defense many times as justification to keep repeating prayers out of my desperation to be heard.
But what God revealed to me about this scripture is that the woman had to ring the bell repeatedly because the judge was an unjust judge who did not fear God or man. And the point of the scripture is that even at that, he did finally answer. So how much more will our loving heavenly Father answer our prayers quickly.
Luke 18:1-8
1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4 “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
He wants us to see the contrast here between the unjust judge and our good heavenly Father.
Please know that if you feel that you have not received an answer to your prayer that there is nothing wrong with you. If you keep asking, there should be no condemnation. Also know that to ask once and leave it to God doesn’t mean that you stop communicating to Him about the situation.
He is our friend, our confidant, and our true love. Of course, we are going to continue to communicate with Him about the situation. But as we do a friend, we talk in more ways than requests. We pour out our hearts in love and concern and joy.
This blog was not meant to bring condemnation to anyone, but to bring encouragement that our heavenly Father hears our prayers the very first time we cry out to him. We can have confidence in that very thing. Take peace from that knowledge.
The following are some scriptural promises that you can base your asking on.
Matthew 7:7-11 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Matthew 18:19 Again...
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do we keep repeating our prayers to God?
We often repeat prayers because we live in a microwave society expecting instant results, or because we focus on our need rather than trusting that God heard us the first time.
What does it mean to be praying in faith according to this episode?
Praying in faith means bringing your request to God once, believing with absolute knowledge that He heard you, and then shifting your focus to thanking and praising Him for the incoming answer.
Does stopping repetitive requests mean I should stop talking to God about my situation?
Not at all. While you stop asking for the same request repeatedly, you continue communicating with God as a friend, pouring out your heart in love, concern, and joy.
Archive Story | Elevator Buttons - Episode 26
Originally written June 24, 2011
posted here: https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/06/24/elevator-buttons/
Elevator Buttons
It is hard to resist. You know, pushing an elevator button more than once.
We push the button, and nothing happens. So we look at it long and hard. It is lit, but nothing is happening that we can see, anyway.
So, we push the button again. It must not have ‘heard’ us the first time. Sometimes we get really frustrated and push it over and over very hard. That should make the elevator hurry!
Yet we know that whether an elevator is fast or slow, once the electronic signal has been sent to retrieve the elevator, the process is in motion. It will come, but must work through its system or processes that gets it to us.
Even knowing this, we still can’t resist the urge to push the button again and again.
I think that sometimes our prayers are like that.
We pray and ask God for something. Then, in a little bit, we pray again. Then, in a day or so, we pray again. And we keep praying.
1 John 5:15 (Amplified Bible)
15 And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.
The scripture above says that He listens to us and hears us when we pray. So when we pray again, do we think He did not hear us? So we pray again, just in case… and again…
But I believe we should pray once, and since we positively know that He heard us, then we should be settled, knowing that we have been granted our request.
Just because we have become a microwave society and expect instant results when a button is pushed, we expect instant results when we pray. It doesn’t mean that God has said no. It doesn’t mean that God has not heard us. I just mean that we must have faith and patiently wait for the process that God desires to grant our prayers to be complete.
It takes faith to push that elevator button one time and know that it will come. But sometimes I think we have more faith in the elevator coming than we do in God granting us our prayers.
Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified Bible)
6 But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists, and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].
The verse above says that without faith, it is impossible to please God. What that is saying to me is that we pray, then because we know He has heard us, we believe He will give us what we have prayed for. If we truly believe that, then we will not ask for it again.
Ouch! That hurt even me!
So in the meantime, while we are patiently waiting, the faith-filled thing to do is—thank Him. Thank Him, we know He has heard us. Thank Him that because we know He heard us, He will send the answer to our prayers.
As you thank Him and praise Him for sending the answer, see yourself or the person you are praying for as if the answer has come.
The kingdom of God is backwards to natural man. They want to see it, then they will believe it.
God says, believe it, then you will see it.
So today, when you pray…
Know that God had heard your cry.
Know that he is answering your prayers.
Praise Him for sending the answer.
See your answer.
Rest in Him.
ADDEDUM
After reading a few comments below, I thought I had left this post unfinished. So, to elaborate just a bit more, let me add the following.
This blog came to me as I was lying on the sofa and had just prayed for something. I lay there a minute or two longer, and the same prayer I had just prayed bubbled up within me. Then, after a lengthy 5 or 10 minutes more, the same prayer came to mind, and as I uttered it I distinctly heard, ‘elevator buttons’.
It was at that moment that the entire blog came rushing into my spirit. God was showing me I was doing just as I described above, pushing the same button repeatedly.
In my case, it was because I didn’t know what else to say. I knew he had heard, but my mind was focused on the subject and my need, and not on the fact that God had heard and was answering.
As this blog came rushing to me, the scripture in Luke 18 regarding the woman ringing the bell over and over again came to my mind. After all, I had used this scripture in my defense many times as justification to keep repeating prayers out of my desperation to be heard.
But what God revealed to me about this scripture is that the woman had to ring the bell repeatedly because the judge was an unjust judge who did not fear God or man. And the point of the scripture is that even at that, he did finally answer. So how much more will our loving heavenly Father answer our prayers quickly.
Luke 18:1-8
1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4 “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
He wants us to see the contrast here between the unjust judge and our good heavenly Father.
Please know that if you feel that you have not received an answer to your prayer that there is nothing wrong with you. If you keep asking, there should be no condemnation. Also know that to ask once and leave it to God doesn’t mean that you stop communicating to Him about the situation.
He is our friend, our confidant, and our true love. Of course, we are going to continue to communicate with Him about the situation. But as we do a friend, we talk in more ways than requests. We pour out our hearts in love and concern and joy.
This blog was not meant to bring condemnation to anyone, but to bring encouragement that our heavenly Father hears our prayers the very first time we cry out to him. We can have confidence in that very thing. Take peace from that knowledge.
The following are some scriptural promises that you can base your asking on.
Matthew 7:7-11 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Matthew 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Mathew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Luke 11:5-13 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Luke 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.
John 14:13, 14 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 16:24 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
James 1:5-7 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
James 4:2, 3 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
1 John 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1 John 5:14, 15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
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