God is not deaf!

Curitiba is a city in the Brazilian state of Paraná with two million inhabitants. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider conducted a divine service there on 13 October 2018. His sermon was based on Isaiah 59: 1: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.” As soon as you hear the Bible text it becomes clear that nothing can prevent God from saving the faithful. He hears and answers prayers that are in accordance with His will, the Chief Apostle said. “It can happen that our prayers are not answered. It can happen that we ask God to change a situation, but He does not do it. Then it becomes a little bit more difficult for us to thank the Lord.” Then we ask God why He did not help us. The Chief Apostle said, “Don’t worry, God hears our prayers!”

In his explanations, the Chief Apostle penetrated deeply into the biblical text. Chapters 58 and 59 of Isaiah talk about rebellious Jews who accused God of abandoning them despite their devoutness and their prayers. In reality, however, they saw only their own interests and abused their neighbour. God answered them that He does not approve of such an attitude.

God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts

God always has an ear for those who believe, the Chief Apostle explained. “There is no situation where God could not help.” The Holy Spirit comforts us by reminding us of the love and omnipotence of God. God wants to save us and nothing can prevent Him from doing so. No situation is ever too complicated or the enemy too strong or the servants too weak and our sins too big that God could not help us!”

However, God’s help does not consist of His putting an end to our suffering, the Chief Apostle continued. God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Instead, He wants to deliver us from evil for good and lead us into His kingdom. He sent His Son—that was the first help we received from God. The sacrifice of Jesus is valid for all human beings. God gave His commandments. They do not restrict our freedom, but protect us from evil, the Chief Apostle went on to say. God gave us His Apostles. Through their activity we can inherit the kingdom of God. “They have received the mission to prepare the bride of Christ. The bride is comprised of those souls who will be able to enter the kingdom of God much earlier.” Sometimes, he continued, we forget how wonderfully God helps us.

And finally, God has also given us a congregation that helps us, the Chief Apostle said. “We are never alone. We have brothers and sisters who help and support us.” That is help from God.

Why God does not answer all of our prayers

Even so, some of our prayers are not answered! Why not? Simply because they do not correspond with the will of God, the Chief Apostle said. After all, there are enough examples of prayers in the Bible which were not answered by God. God refuses to

• give us tangible proof of His existence, His activity, and His love: “Faith is indispensable if we want to be saved.”
• punish those who reject Him: “Jesus wants to save them.”
• do our work for us: “It is up to us to resolve our conflicts and reconcile ourselves with others.”
• allow us to remain as we are: “To attain salvation we must let our old nature die.”
• give us the exact point in time of Jesus’ return.

“Let us bring our prayers into line with the will of God so that He can answer them.”