"I can't get no ... satisfaction!" So goes a popular rock tune of several years back. It captures the sentiment of a culture which has long ago left behind any semblance of Christian contentment. No one is satisfied with their lot in life. The line-ups at the lottery booths demonstrate how far we've fallen away. This dearth of "satisfaction" presents some peculiar problems when we share the gospel.

A few months ago while bringing the gospel to a group of men at a drug and alcohol rehab centre here in Hamilton, we were confronted with one kind of "no satisfaction" problem. Like most men at this rehab centre, Dan was a transient. Dan would be there that week, but the next time we wouldn't see him; in fact, we never did see him again. Few men seem to stick it out through the whole three-month rehab program. Dan was in there trying to get over a drug habit. He had abandoned his wife and children to pursue the "good life" offered by a drug-induced stupor. He had been fired from a well-paying job, established a criminal record, and lived on the street. But now Dan was trying to get it all straight again. Someone had told him about the rehab centre on James St. in Hamilton and that's where he ended up. Now he was here with us at our Bible Study.

Nobody's Listening?⤒🔗

Using language peppered with obscenity and sometimes blasphemy, Dan told us about his many problems. "I came here to the program, and they said I should try praying. Couldn't be any harm in tryin', right? So I did. But God never answered my prayers. I guess God isn't there or he just don't care 'bout me." For the remainder of the evening we discussed Dan's troubles: God never helped him kick his drug problem or his pornography habit. He had "tried God," but God didn't work for him. Such an objection to Christianity is a common one, especially among those who are down and out. They try praying but they don't see any results, so they become discouraged and have further ammunition for their rejection of the gospel. If we're involved with bringing the gospel like we should be, it's important that we know how to answer this objection to the Christian faith. How do we give an answer to Dan and others like him?

This apologetical problem is distinct from many others in that we're dealing with a different variety of obstinate unbelief. Dan was willing to try and pray, even though he still had his doubts about God and Christianity. His was a more pragmatic and less reasoned-out approach, a "let's see if Christian thing works for me" approach. However, our method of responding to Dan should be exactly the same as what we use for responding to other forms of unbelief: carefully reasoned arguments from Scripture. Scripture is the Sword of the Spirit, and against all forms of unbelief we must wield this powerful sword (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Our wisdom is not from men, but from God. So our method here must be Scriptural, completely based on the Word of God.

The Bible says a lot about prayer. In what follows, I'll only briefly summarize some of the more important passages and how they pertain to this "no satisfaction" problem. Usually, when we're given an opportunity to wrestle with this problem, there are time constraints. Though it may be easier to offer an objector a thick slab of paper and ink on such a subject, usually they just want it as short and "sweet" as possible. I'll do the same here.

Who Do We Pray To?←⤒🔗

Very broadly speaking, Scripture shows us that prayer is communication with God — but not just any "god," it is Jahweh in particular that we are speaking to, the Christian God, the God Who reveals Himself in Scripture (Psalm 73:25). Before even a word is uttered in prayer, the one praying must have the one true God in mind as recipient of the prayer. It is impossible to pray to "whoever's out there." Nor can one pray to "if you're there," and expect to be heard by the true God. No, prayer is a calling upon the one true God (see Heidelberg Catechism, QA 117). This is perhaps the most important point to make with the objector: you must pray to the God of the Bible if you expect Him to hear you. Behind all of that is the necessity of belief in the Triune God. If Dan didn't believe in the existence of the God of the Bible, it would be necessary to prove that to him, using the Scriptural arguments outlined in previous articles. He may not be convinced by such Scriptural arguments, but we must make it clear that prayer is communication with the Creator and that without faith in the existence of the Creator and the work of His Son, prayer is futile.

James 1:6-8 makes this even clearer:

...but let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

God will not listen to those who pray to Him with doubts about His existence, His work through Christ, or His ability to give what we need. Obviously, this makes faith a prerequisite for prayer. One must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation before God will hear. After all, it is only through Christ as mediator that we may even approach the throne of God with our requests. How can you ask God to do these things on your own merits? It must be made clear to the objector that in order for God to hear prayer, he must humble himself before God, confess his sins, and believe in Christ Jesus for salvation. All of that is not done just so that the objector will finally get his prayers answered, it must be out of humble recognition of his place as a sinner before a holy God — deserving of nothing more than eternal damnation. We must make it clear that we don't worship some holy Santa Claus who dishes out the presents for those who make Him happy. God is a God of holiness and a consuming fire. He cannot stand to have wickedness before Him. What He does for us in His mercy is only because of Christ.

If we continue in the ways of sin, ignoring the command to repent and believe, God will not hear us. The Psalmist writes, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." (Psalm 66:18). On the other hand, in Psalm 34, we read, "The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and His ears are open to their cry." Of course, we are not righteous on our own account, that righteousness can only come from Christ.

Putting God to the Test←⤒🔗

Dan hadn't understood any of that. He had thought God was a big cosmic Santa just waiting for people to come and ask and he would give with no questions asked. No wonder he was so disappointed! Dan didn't believe in Christ as Lord. He had been brought up in a Roman Catholic family and his whole understanding of the Bible was perverted by that upbringing. He thought he'd go to heaven (if there was such a thing), just because his name was on the Roman rolls and he was "basically a good guy." We told him about the gospel and how it relates to prayer, but like so many others, Dan was hard-hearted and stubborn. He was impatient. He wanted results first and then, only then would he believe. He wanted to put God to the test. Dan would be the marker, God the one who writes. A really arrogant and sinful way of thinking! Dan heard his ideas refuted from the Bible, which still carried some degree of authority for him, but he was stubborn. The best, most Scriptural arguments won't convince the heart not softened by the Holy Spirit.

However, what about those people we encounter who do believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose faith is relatively young and immature, who find that their requests are not answered? What if Dan had been a Christian and still found that his prayers were not heard? This is not so much of an apologetical problem, since we're no longer dealing with unbelief as such. Yet it is a problem which does occur in evangelistic settings. What instruction can we provide for new believers on this point?

Does God Always Hear the Prayers of Believers?←⤒🔗

Scripture speaks powerfully: Matthew 7:9-11,

Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone. Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Here the truth about prayer is made plain: the Lord hears the prayers of His people and knows their needs. He will always provide good things for His children no matter what. Even in adversity, we know that our Father in heaven is working it for our good (Romans 8:28). It can be difficult for some who have endured horrible suffering to understand this truth, but it is true nonetheless. The Apostle Paul learned this difficult lesson with his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Father truly does know best. When, by the grace of God, we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God always hear our prayers and always provides for our needs. We may not always know what we need at a particular moment, but God does. He knows our needs better than we do ourselves, and therefore we can trust that what He sends us will always be for our good.

All that He does because of Christ. Through Christ we have become adopted children of God. Also young believers can be confident of that fact. We must bring that across in the strongest terms. It's a truth which should be dynamic in our lives. In our evangelism, others must be able to see that we believe what we say and we live like it matters. Speaking about your own personal experiences with prayer can sometimes be helpful in this. Both believers and unbelievers can see both how you understand the Scriptures and how the Holy Spirit is working in your life. Also in defending the gospel, there is definitely room for personal testimony of what our covenant God has done for us in our lives.

Prayer is very important for the Christian life and it's also very important to have a Scriptural understanding of how prayer functions. Unbelievers often have a "Santa Claus" misconception of prayer which sometimes affects also the way Christians view prayer. In our evangelism, we have to confront un-Scriptural ideas about prayer, both in the thinking of believers and unbelievers. The goal is to show forth the need for belief in Christ and the great comfort, peace and contentment which such belief produces. Dan and others like him will not find satisfaction in drugs, alcohol, pornography, or materialism. Apart from repentance, they'll be singing the same old sad tune, a tune straight from hell. Satisfaction is knowing that Christ has paid for all your sins and saved you and knowing that He intercedes for you now before the Father. What greater satisfaction could there be?!