All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible 1995 Ed. (NASB95)

One of the most amazing realities about being a child of God is that we have the glorious promise of having our prayers answered whenever we ask according to God’s will. There are multiple Scriptures that clearly declare this stupendous fact, from Jesus’s own words in the Gospels, to the words of the apostle John in his first letter, specifically in chapters 3 and 5. So, we know that whenever we’re asking from the Lord with pure motives, He’ll hear our prayer. And yet, we are so limited in our understanding of our circumstances, and of what we need to experience in our ongoing Christian growth, that oftentimes He answers us in ways that we weren’t thinking about when we made our request. A very instructive example of this is found in the life of the man after God’s own heart, King David.

David’s Curse

David is portrayed in the Scriptures as an exemplary man of prayer, and we see this showcased even in one of his lowest points of humiliation and disgrace. In the story I want to present to you, David is suffering the long-term consequences of his notorious sins against his servant Uriah, and Uriah’s wife Bathsheba. As a punishment for his murder of one of his best warriors, the Lord promises David that “the sword shall never depart from your house” (2 Sam. 12:10). In other words, David’s family and royal dynasty will be disturbed by various acts of inner violence and intrigue from here on out. The first instance of this is played out in the murder of David’s son Amnon by his other son Absalom. Absalom takes vengeance on Amnon for his perverted act of raping Absalom’s sister Tamar, who is also a child of David’s. In the aftermath of Amnon’s murder, Absalom flees Israel to avoid being punished for his crime, in spite of any justification we may see in punishing Amnon for his crime. Thus, the first instance of the sword disturbing David’s family has taken place, and now there is a rift between David and his son.

David’s Enemy

Nevertheless, the end of 2 Samuel 13 tells us that David’s heart “longed to go out to Absalom” (v. 39). And so David’s chief military commander takes this weakness of heart in David as an opportunity to restore Absalom back into fellowship with Israel. Through a clever audience with a “wise woman of Tekoa,” David is persuaded to allow Absalom back into Israel, which is the means of the second phase of familial strife that the Lord orchestrates.

Once Absalom is back in Israel, it’s only a few years before his lust for control and power over his father’s kingdom leads him to persuade most of the Jews in Israel to favor his governance over David’s (Ch. 15). Once he’s gained public favor, he goes to the city of Hebron, and wins more of a following, which accepts him as the new king of Israel. In Jerusalem, David is at the risk of being forcibly removed from his throne, so he takes his royal guardsmen and personal servants, and runs out of the city for his life.

David’s Prayer

It’s while he’s on the journey to the wilderness over the Jordan that David presents the prayer that we’re considering in this lesson. 2 Samuel 15:31 says,

            “Now someone told David, saying, ‘Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.’ And David said, ‘O LORD, I pray, make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness.’”

We later learn that this Ahithophel used to be David’s chief advisor, since “the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one inquired of the word of God” (2 Sam. 16:23). Thus, Absalom now has one of the wisest men in Israel helping him, and David wisely asks the Lord to eliminate this advantage for Absalom, so his reign will fail. This is where the all-wise and mysterious will of God in answering prayers starts to be unveiled. If the Lord was to answer this prayer, you would assume that the way He would do so is by corrupting Ahithophel’s thinking, and causing him to offer advice that is literally foolishness. Yet, this is not at all what the Lord does to answer David’s prayer.

The Lord’s Instrument of Prayer

The first way that the Lord answers David’s prayer is by providing him with a secret agent to thwart the efforts of Absalom directly. Right after David makes his request, “Hushai the Archite met him with his coat torn and dust on his head” (2 Sam. 15:32). It’s revealed that this man is “David’s friend,” which means some kind of adviser, like Ahithophel (15:37). Once Hushai meets David, David commissions him with the task of pretending to support Absalom, and then doing his best to prevent him from following any good advice from Ahithophel (15:34). This is an important lesson about the Lord’s answers to our prayers. Many times, it’s not enough to simply ask the Lord to something, but if we truly want him to answer our request, we must take steps towards realizing our desired state of affairs. And this is exactly what David does here.

In chapter 17, we see the direct answer to David’s prayer in a very unexpected way. Since David, with his small force of six hundred men, and his servants, has just hastily left Jerusalem, and is still on the western side of the Jordan, discouraged and exhausted, Ahithophel constructs a wise plan for he himself to quickly separate David from his band, and kill him by himself, while leading his own task force. This plot is presented to Absalom, and “the plan pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel” (v. 4). However, David’s secret agent Hushai is also at Absalom’s court, and is also considered a trustworthy and wise counselor. Therefore, Absalom apparently wisely asks for his advice also. When asked what he thinks of Ahithophel’s advice, Hushai deceitfully despises that advice as “not good” (v. 7). This is where God’s wisdom really comes into play, since if most clear-thinking people compare Ahithophel’s counsel with Hushai’s, there are at least a few counts on which the first plan given to Absalom is superior to Hushai’s. Hushai falsely asserts that David is hiding in a cave with his mighty men, and that they are still just as strong and courageous as they’ve always been. He rejects the plan to quickly attack David with whatever forces Absalom now has as folly, and instead tells him that he should gather the biggest army he can get, and personally lead it into battle. This will take more time, and allow David to get to place more suitable for a defensive strategy, while causing Absalom himself to be put into danger, so he can be killed, and the strength of the revolt can be removed. In large part due to Absalom’s vain-glory and self-love, he decides that Hushai’s plan is better, along with “the men of Israel” (v. 14). Then, the author explains that this happened through the Lord’s answer:

            “For the LORD had ordained to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring calamity on Absalom.” (v. 14).

The Lord’s Answer

Do you see how the Lord answered David’s prayer? David asked him to “make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness”, and he did so – though not in the direct way. Rather than making his counsel itself folly, He wisely made Absalom’s understanding of his advice to be to regard it as foolishness. In this way, He used Absalom’s own pride and foolishness against him, and graciously answered David’s prayer.

As most well-read Bible students know, this advice led to the downfall of Absalom. In response to Hushai, he leads a massive army out in the wilderness, where he’s eventually killed, and his army routed by David’s smaller force. As further evidence that Ahithophel’s advice was actually the wise course of action, we shockingly learn that he later “strangled himself” and died as a result, out of despair for the doom of Absalom’s conspiracy, and his treacherous part in it (17:23).

Two Prayer Principles

Thus, from this account, we can learn two major lessons about answered prayers. First, asking from the Lord isn’t simply a way to avoid doing what’s necessary to accomplish our godly goals for His glory. It’s the main instrument through which He accomplishes His good purposes for us, which usually require our direct action to bring those purposes about. Although prayer is primary both in importance and influence, it usually ought to motivate us to take action in the direction of having our requests answered. Second, we should never assume that the Lord will answer our prayers in exactly the way we ask them from Him. Instead, we should be open to any possible way that He might give us what we need for our good, and also expect Him to do even more than what we ask. Obviously, this implies that we should always remember that we don’t get to control events through prayer, but we should control ourselves and what we can do, while trusting the Lord to control everything else.

In response to these truths and promises, I urge you to devote yourself more to prayer, and to looking for the best ways that your prayers can be answered. And what are the best ways? Those which are (1) in keeping with the Lord’s commands to us, (2) most conducive to our spiritual growth, (3) most effective in doing good to others, and (4) those circumstances that will put the Lord’s character and power on display the most. So pray without ceasing to Him who is “able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Eph. 3:20)!