Flashback Episode — Answering Our Requests: John 4:46-54


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Last week, we focused in on the miracle of Jesus healing an official’s son, but we didn’t cover one other big idea we can learn from this event. While this miracle demonstrates huge levels of faith with the officer asking Jesus to do something that there was no track record for Him doing, we can learn through Jesus’ response and their conversation something that we should apply to our requests to Jesus.

All too often, when we pray, we want God to answer us in a specific, expected way and anything less than our expectations makes us think that our prayers are going unanswered. However, is this expectation present in this miraculous event? Let’s read it and find out.

Our passage is found in the gospel of John, chapter 4, and like in our last episode, we will be reading from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 46, John tells us that:

46 Jesus went again to visit Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. One of the king’s important officers lived in the city of Capernaum, and his son was sick. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to Jesus and begged him to come to Capernaum and heal his son, because his son was almost dead.

Let’s pause here for a moment to look closely at this official’s request. Jesus had just returned to Cana in Galilee and we can conclude that Cana probably wasn’t too far from Capernaum. When the officer comes to ask Jesus for help, his request is for Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son. We can call this request the official’s prayer request. Similar to the times when we ask Jesus for help with something, this official was asking Jesus for help with something.

Let’s continue reading to learn Jesus’ response. Picking back up in verse 48:

48 Jesus said to him, “You people must see signs and miracles before you will believe in me.”

49 The officer said, “Sir, come before my child dies.”

50 Jesus answered, “Go. Your son will live.”

The man believed what Jesus told him and went home. 51 On the way the man’s servants came and met him and told him, “Your son is alive.”

52 The man asked, “What time did my son begin to get well?”

They answered, “Yesterday at one o’clock the fever left him.”

53 The father knew that one o’clock was the exact time that Jesus had said, “Your son will live.” So the man and all the people who lived in his house believed in Jesus.

54 That was the second miracle Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.

In our passage and in this miracle, we see the official restating his original request for Jesus to come, to hurry before his child dies. In response, Jesus challenges the man to believe and trust Jesus’ promise that this man’s son will live. John tells us that the man believed Jesus’ words and left to return home.

It is at this point that we look at the prayer request and the answer to prayer being two completely different things. The man asked Jesus to come, and Jesus basically said “No”. However, under the surface, the man wants Jesus to help, specifically to heal his son, and for this request, Jesus was happy to answer “Yes” to the man’s request and His belief.

This miracle gives us a model for when we ask God for help. While we won’t always see what goes on behind the scenes in God answering our prayers, we should make our prayer requests fully expecting God to help us in the best way for us to be helped. This might mean that our prayers are answered exactly like how we requested them, but it might also mean that our prayers are answered in ways that we didn’t expect them to be answered. We might not even recognize what God has done as an answer to a prayer.

Whenever I talk about prayer and answers to prayer with people, I like to share that God has four answers that He gives to our prayers. The first way God response to prayer is with a “Yes”. With what we asked for, God is willing to give us the answer.

The second way is with a “No”. While people might think this answer is the least desirable, in my own life, I actually like seeing closed doors, because it tells me that God has something better in mind for me.

The third way God answers prayers is with a “wait” response. Perhaps our request is something God knows that we need, and He is more than happy to help us with it, but the timing isn’t right. I could ask God for a million dollars, and He might know that at some point in my life, a million dollars would be a great thing for me to have. However, He might also know that at this point in my life, I am not ready for that level of wealth, so the answer is a wait, because I need to learn, grow, and mature into being the person capable of handling that wealth. If He were to answer the request before I am ready to handle it, God’s answer to my request would do more harm than good.

The fourth way God answers prayer is with a “No, but here is something else”. This is the trickiest response God can give because it might feel like He is rejecting our prayers, when in reality, He is simply blessing us in ways that are different from our expectation.

These are the four primary ways I see God answer prayers. However, from our passage and this miracle, God may have a fifth way that is distinct from the other four. This fifth way is a Yes, but trust me to do what is needed behind the scenes before you will visibly see my response. While this is similar to the “wait” response, we learn that the answer to the official’s request was not delayed, but the official’s knowledge of the prayer request being answered was delayed briefly.

When we pray to God, know that He does not delay answering our prayers. Like the official did, we should trust that God has answered our prayers at the exact moment we pray them. However, we should also move forward with the faith that we might not always see God’s answers to prayers at the moment we pray them, or in the way we expect them to be answered.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Always seek God first and don’t be afraid of asking God your difficult requests. Know that God is willing to tackle your most difficult challenges, but He will only answer your requests in ways that are beneficial to you from an eternity’s perspective. God wants you and I in heaven with Him, and this filters all the answers He gives to the prayers we pray. I believe that God won’t answer a prayer we pray in a way that will cause us to forfeit our salvation.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. Growing closer to God through prayer and study will help align our requests with God’s will, and when we are praying within God’s will, nothing will stop God from freely answering every request we ask.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Flashback Episode: Year of Miracles – Episode 5: When an officer asks Jesus for help, we discover Jesus responds in a way that helps the official while also refusing his direct request. Learn how this event and miracle should shape how we pray and how we trust God to answer our prayers.

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