Does prayer really work???  I pray for situations to change in my life, and they don't.  I do the best I can to try to get ahead, but it seems like more frustrating things end up in my path.  Furthermore, it seems as a slap in the face to my faith.  I watch those around me who barely believe in God live fulfilling lives.  What does God want me to do?

Sincerely,
Up In Arms

Dear Up In Arms,

Prayers do work, but God still has veto power.  We are told to pray that “if the Lord wills, we will do this or that” (Jas 4:15).  Jesus taught His disciples to pray for the Lord’s will to be done (Matt 6:10).  Part of prayer is that we need to learn to trust that God knows what He is doing.  We are entreating the Creator of the Universe with our problems, and just like any loving father, our Heavenly Father sometimes says, “No” to our requests.  As every parent knows, children sometimes ask for things that aren’t in their best interest, or they ask things unaware of the bigger picture.  God wants to give us good gifts (Matt 7:11)… sometimes that means that He answers our prayers by giving us something different than what we expected.

Now, let’s talk about those prosperous unbelievers that you are seeing.  Your frustration is valid, and David had the same frustration.  In Psalm 73, David talked about his animosity toward the success of the ungodly… he said it made him so mad that he almost fell away from God (Ps 73:2).  However, David finally concluded that the ungodly were not blessed because their entire existence was slippery and dependent upon their physical prosperity (Ps 73:18).  Only God’s people have an eternal hope that gives us comfort regardless of how life goes here (Ps 73:27-28).

I am feeling very sick right now, and I have a question: why do I still feel the same though I have already prayed?

Sincerely,
Ill At Ease

Dear Ill At Ease,

There are two reasons that God might not have answered your prayers yet.  The first reason is that He is ignoring your prayers because you aren’t a christian, or you aren’t living faithfully.  Read “Whose Prayers Count?” for the list of things that will make God turn His back on your prayers.

The other reason is that God’s timing is different than yours.  God answers our prayers according to His will, not ours – in fact, we should pray that the Lord’s will be done (Jas 4:15).  Having said that, it is perfectly appropriate to keeping praying until the answer is clear – God is pleased with the consistently prayerful (1 Thess 5:17).  He wants you to ask over and over – until He gives you an answer.  David prayed vehemently for the life of his child until the child died (2 Sam 12:22-23).  Paul prayed for his sickness to be removed three times until God told him to accept the pain (2 Cor 12:8-9).  Cornelius’ prayers were constantly before the Lord until Peter was sent (Acts 10:4-5).  Even our Lord prayed in the garden repeatedly that He might not have to die on the cross (Matt 26:39).  The key in all these circumstances was that the requests ceased when God answered. Once God made His decision apparent, whether it was yes or no, acceptance began.

God never gets tired of hearing from His children.  Christians are to constantly seek Him in prayer.  The most direct example of this is Christ’s parable of the unjust judge in Lk 18:1-5.  Christ taught that parable so that “men ought always to pray, and not to grow weary”.  God wants to hear from His people.  So don’t stop asking for help; He is listening.  We are so sorry for your illness, and we will pray for you as well.

Should a preacher be allowed to be both an elder and preacher in the church?

Sincerely,
Double Duty

Dear Double Duty,

If a preacher also meets the qualifications to be an elder (those qualifications can be found in 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9), then he can serve as both an elder and a preacher.  In fact, we have an example of this in the apostle Peter.  Peter was an evangelist (we see him preaching boldly in Acts 2), he was an apostle (Matt 10:2), and Peter says that he was also an elder (1 Pet 5:1)!  Peter held all three jobs at once because he was qualified for all three jobs.  It doesn't matter whether someone is a preacher or not, if he is qualified to serve as an elder, the congregation should appoint him.

Who are the twenty-four elders?

Sincerely,
Taking Role

Dear Taking Role,

The twenty-four elders seen in Rev 4:4 are before the throne of God.  They are identified as wearing white garments and wearing crowns of gold.  These details lend toward them being representative of the saved because God promises the faithful imperishable crowns (1 Pet 5:4) and robes of white (Rev 3:5).  The book of Revelation is highly symbolic, and it is important to not get too bogged down in looking for specifics when the book is intended to give a bigger picture of the church’s persecution and eventual victory over Rome.  Having said that, to us, the most plausible thing that the twenty-four elders represent is a combination of the redeemed from both the Old and New Covenants… twelve elders symbolic for the twelve tribes of Israel and twelve elders standing for the saved under the teachings of the twelve apostles.  Both the faithful of the Old and the New Testaments are saved together in Christ (Heb 9:15, Heb 11:40), and all the faithful cast their crowns down before God (Rev 4:10).  For an in-depth study of the book of Revelation, please feel free to download our class series on that subject at http://www.mvchurchofchrist.org/sermons.

If I play a video game that is all about walking around and killing zombies, is this considered a sin?

Sincerely,
BRAINS!!!

Dear BRAINS,

Video games are not inherently wrong, but it is also important that christians be careful what they put into their minds.  Php 4:8 tells us that we should dwell and meditate on wholesome and pure things.  1 Cor 15:33 says that if we keep the wrong company, we will eventually be corrupted by their influence.  These principles need to be considered when we choose television shows, movies, video games, and other forms of entertainment.  Violence in video games isn’t necessarily wrong – even the Bible has some pretty violent scenes in it, but if we find ourselves consumed by grisly, violent, and morbid entertainment… there is a problem.