A Conversation with
Bob Russell
author of When
God Answers Prayer
Q. Your previous book, When God Builds a Church,
recounted the growth of Southeast Christian Church, where you are pastor. How did When God Answers Prayer come about?
A. I’m
honored that Howard Publishing Company asked me to write this book about
answered prayer. On one hand, I can
understand why they would ask me, because few pastors have witnessed more
consistent, dramatic answers to prayer than I have. In four decades of ministry I’ve seen more lost people saved,
sick people restored, threatened homes unified, worship services anointed,
barren wombs opened, money raised and buildings built than almost any other
preacher I know. So, like my previous
book, this one is built upon simple scriptural truths and simple true stories
from my experience in ministry.
Q. How
does this book stand apart from other books on prayer?
A. There are dozens of excellent books on how
to pray, but this is not another how-to-pray book. Instead, I hope this book
will reinforce what Christians know to be true and will remind them that prayer
really works. I’m confident readers
will be inspired by the true stories of answered prayer. And I’m sure they’ll find their faith
strengthened by the authentic testimonies of those who have remained faithful
to God—despite unanswered prayers. I
believe if I can convince a reader of prayer’s effectiveness, he or she will
find a way to pray more efficiently.
Q. What part has prayer played in
our nation’s history and specifically since
September 11, 2001?
A. When our nation is in trouble, God’s people need to pray. One of the reasons the United States has
been so blessed by God is that in times of trouble, leaders and citizens of
this nation have always turned to prayer. The pilgrims barely survived the
first winter in the new land. They
prayed that God would provide and they made it through. When the first harvest came, they set aside a
special time to thank God for his blessings.
George Washington knelt in the snow at Valley Forge and asked God for
the resources so the revolutionary army could survive. When the first Continental Congress met in
1789, they came to a stalemate. There were
harsh words, and one delegation even left in anger. Others were threatening to leave as well. Benjamin Franklin called upon the Congress
to stop for a three-day prayer meeting.
The events
of September 11, 2001, were tragic, but they resulted in a brief spiritual
revival in America. Americans flocked
to churches the evening of September 11 and the days that followed, falling on
their knees before God in prayer. The
leaders of our nation openly called upon us to pray to God for America. For several months the song “God Bless
America” was for all practical purposes our national anthem. It was sung at every public gathering
alongside of the traditional “Star Spangled Banner,” often with more zeal and
enthusiasm.
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Q. How can our prayers affect our
nation and our national security in this time of war?
A. As we face an uncertain future
of war and threat of more terrorism always looming, we would be wise to
pray. We should pray, “Lord, help us to
avoid war when possible, but to always have the courage to stand for what is
right. Protect our sons and daughters
and allow justice to prevail. Lord,
help us to repent of our immorality, greed, and disrespect for life, and may
our nation turn to you.”
Q. What do you see as the future
of America?
A. I hear some Christian people
talking very pessimistically about America’s future. “We’re finished,” they say.
“We’re a post-Christian nation now and God will judge us for our
disobedience.” I agree that God will
judge us if we do not repent, but we don’t know the future. Our God is an awesome God, and he promises
to listen to the prayers of his people.
Jesus said, “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Only time will tell whether America will return
to her proud ways or continue to humble herself before God in times of trouble. The Bible says that the burden of proof
rests on those of us who call ourselves God’s children. It is our job to take the lead in prayer.
Q. What
encouragement can you offer to Christians who believe in prayer, but who find
that it doesn’t come easily?
A. I hope
readers find encouragement in the simple message of this book: that prayer
works. When you talk to the Father, he
rewards you. Even if it doesn’t come
easy, even if some of our prayers are not answered the way you hoped they would
be, God rewards genuine prayer. Prayer
is the channel through which God pours out His blessings on us. We can alter the plan of God by our prayers. The Bible assures us that prayer changes
things.
Q. Are you saying that when we pray, are we
able to change God’s mind?
A. Some people would contend that
God’s mind couldn’t really be changed if he knows and controls the future. God certainly doesn’t have to change his mind, but the Bible says he did, and the
Scripture is full of examples of God changing his mind – with Abraham, Moses,
Elijah and Hezekiah just to name a few.
God doesn’t have everything about this world pre-programmed. God is sovereign, but that does not mean God
rules over every detail to the extent that we are helpless puppets on a string.
God not only knows the future, but he
knows all possible futures. If God is all-powerful and all-knowing, he
knows what will happen if we pray and what will happen if we don’t pray at
all. And although God also knows which
“possible future” is going to be the real one, this helps us understand how we
truly could change God’s mind.
Q. What practical elements enhance
your own prayer life?
A. I have found that my focus in
prayer is enhanced by kneeling, praying out loud and by fasting. In my daily prayer time I prefer to
kneel. It’s harder for my mind to
wander and nearly impossible to fall asleep when I’m on my knees. I also pray out loud whenever possible. I have trouble with silent prayer. My mind goes off on tangents. The Bible sometimes mentions fasting as an
accompaniment to prayer. Jesus didn’t
command us to fast, but he assumed that at times we would. A surefire way to increase the intensity of
your prayers is to fast. Kneeling helps
your concentration in the short term, but fasting helps for a longer period.
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Q. What about corporate
prayer? If people join together in
prayer, is God more likely to answer than if just one person prays?
A. I think so. Jesus said, “If two of you on earth agree
about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in
heaven. For where two or three come
together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:19-20). If one person asks me to visit a relative
who is in the hospital, I might honor the request. But if fifty people call and they all say it would mean a lot to
the hospitalized person if I were to visit, I’ll go right away! God is infinitely more powerful, more loving
and more available than I am; yet God has promised that our prayers make a
difference and that “two or three gathered together” makes a bigger
difference. God is more likely to
intervene in the affairs of men when his saints petition him together to do so.
Q. Why doesn’t God answer all our
prayers?
A. For those of us who believe in
a holy, loving, just, prayer-answering God, that’s a tough question to
answer. I’ve prayed that God would
spare the life of a child battling leukemia, and the child still died. I’ve prayed for God to keep a marriage
together through a difficult time and the couple still got divorced. I’ve prayed for relief from stress and more
responsibility came. I’ve prayed for
someone’s soul—that he would respond to the invitation to accept Christ—and he
never did. A lot of people think that
if their prayers aren’t answered, God must be angry with them. But when you consider that the prayers of
Moses, Paul and Jesus were not always answered affirmatively, you have to
wonder if just the opposite is true!
Q. What encouragement can you
offer to Christians who say their prayers repeatedly go unanswered, and they
just can’t understand God’s will?
A. Remember the Bible’s promise,
“Weeping may remain for the night but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm
30:5). Historically, when life has been
difficult, Christians have focused on heaven.
Sometimes we in America don’t focus much on heaven because we have it so
good down here on earth! We’re not
living in persecution or poverty, and our roots can go down pretty deep in this
affluent, comfortable world. We might
even picture heaven as a boring place where people sit on a cloud and strum a
harp all day. But when your prayers go
unanswered and this world becomes difficult, heaven begins to look a lot more
attractive. And when you understand
what heaven is really all about, you
can’t wait to get there. The Bible
instructs us to set our minds on things above, to lay up treasure in heaven, to
fix our eyes on things that are unseen.