Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. Ephesians 1:11

The Bible is full of what we might call “dangerous answers to prayer.”

Out of the world’s best-known collection of morality fables comes the warning, “Be careful what you wish for.”  We can apply that wisdom in prayer– “Can you handle an answered prayer?”[1] asks H.B. Charles, Jr. in his book, It Happens After Prayer.             Dangerous answers to prayer described in scripture include the time when the people of Israel rejected God’s leadership, demanding a king; they wanted to be like everyone else. God’s prophet warned them it was a bad idea, but God gave them what they asked for and that soon turned into long line of wicked and corrupt rulers over the people (1 Samuel 18).

In the Bible book of 2 Kings, you can read about King Hezekiah, who, on his deathbed, asked God for 15 more years of life…and got it!  Unfortunately, during those last 15 years of his life, he had a son, Manasseh, who definitely made the top 10 most wicked kings list of the Old Testament (2 Kings 20-21).

There’s a lot that we don’t know when we pray.  We think we know what we want, but we don’t know what God knows and we don’t know the future. When the mother of two of Jesus’ disciples asked him to let her two sons sit next to Him in heaven, he told her, “You don’t know what you are asking!” (Matthew 20:22).

Here’s the question to ask ourselves:  Are we really willing to pray, as Jesus did, “Father, if you are willing, please [and you fill in the blank here]. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine”? (Luke 22:42).

[1] Charles, H. B. “Can You Handle An Answered Prayer?” It Happens After Prayer: Biblical Motivation for Believing Prayer, Moody Publishers, Chicago, 2013, pp. 11–24.