Unanswered Prayers Part 2
Sometime it just takes a moment or two to answer…
Daniel 10:10-14 (NKJV)
10 Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands.
11 And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling.
12 Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.
14 Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”
And then,
God may also delay an answer. His “not yet” is, again, for His children’s good and for His glory. God’s eternal perspective is greater than ours. In His big picture view, He sometimes delays a response until the best possible time. For example, Zechariah and Elizabeth were childless and no doubt prayed for a child, but they were old in years before God gave them a son (Luke 1:5-13).
God delayed until it was time for the Messiah, Jesus, to be born, because John the Baptist would be His forerunner. Often, God’s delays are a means of strengthening our spiritual muscles or to teach us to pray continually.
Sometimes things will get worse after we’ve prayed before they get better; but remember: God is never late or early. Because He is God, He is not capable of making mistakes. We must remember the character of God and trust Him — He is wise, good, faithful, trustworthy, etc.
In His mysterious ways, He accomplishes “immeasurably more” than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
Ephesians 3:20-21 (HCSB)
20 Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Can God, who is sovereign and omniscient, ever be persuaded to change His mind or alter His plans?
Some Scriptures indicate that prayer can and does make a difference in human events. But other Scriptures show that prayers did nothing to change the course of life in certain situations.
God’s answers might seem so random to us. Jesus escaped, but other innocent children were slaughtered (Matthew 2:16).
Matthew 2:16 (NKJV)
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
Peter was freed, but James was killed (Acts 12:2, 6-11).
Acts 12:2 (NKJV) Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
Acts 12:6-11 (NKJV)
6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.
7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands.
8 Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.”
9 So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.
10 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”
Again, we simply cannot understand everything this side of eternity about how God responds to specific prayers.
What Might Be Some Reasons for Unanswered Prayers?
When our prayers are not answered the way we hoped, does that mean God is ignoring us?
Not necessarily. Sometimes it is a matter of waiting for God’s timing.
Perhaps God has something better for us, or there is an opportunity that He might receive greater glory. Perhaps He is protecting us from unseen danger.
Just because Christians’ prayers “aren’t answered,” that does not mean they’re doing something wrong.
Christians are often targeted by Satan. What the enemy means for believers’ harm, God redeems for their good and His glory.
But Stuart Briscoe wrote in Just Between Us magazine,
“We need to learn to search our own hearts as we pray, because problems may lurk in our hearts that hinder our praying.”
What are some possible reasons for unanswered prayers?
There may be spiritual issues. Perhaps we are not abiding — living in — close fellowship with God. We don’t have a prayer life or regular time in the Word.
We may not be asking according to God’s will and Word or turning away from God’s instructions. We may be a doubter, not asking in faith — or perhaps, because of weak faith, we’re not even asking God for what we need
(James 4:2b).
James 4:2-3 (NKJV)
2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
We may be praying hypocritically to get attention or praying in rebellion. We may be cherishing unconfessed sin. God will not be mocked. He knows us intimately and sees every “hidden” sin. We may be praying with sinful motives or out of pride or selfish desires rather than to the glory of God.
Jennifer Heeren wrote, “Our whims aren’t necessarily God’s will.”
The truth is — our happiness and so-called “successes” aren’t God’s highest priority. His responses are meant to shape us into the image of Christ
(Romans 8:29).
Romans 8:29-30 (NKJV)
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Again, God is more interested in changing you than your circumstances!!!
There may be relationship issues too. God sees when we show hostility against fellow believers or harbor an unforgiving spirit. He knows when a husband is not treating is wife well. He notices when we close our ears to the cries of the needy.
How Should We Respond to Unanswered Prayers?
Should we keep praying about seeming unanswered prayers?
Yes, says Jon Bloom at Desiring God.
The Lord “wants us to seriously press into the question, ‘What’s the problem?’” Bloom said. God wants us to persevere. He knows we struggle to pray. “We’re distractible, we’re lazy, we’re busy,” Bloom said, “we’ve had poor models, we lack a clear plan for how and when to pray, we’re overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people and things to pray for, our Adversary opposes our praying, and the list goes on.”
When Jesus says, “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours, we’re “tempted to respond mockingly, ‘Yeah, whatever,” Bloom said. He continues that Jesus knows this promise presses us “beyond our limits.” “He means it to.” Jesus’s purpose is not to shame us for our little faith. “He’s inviting us to come further up and further in.”
Christians are tempted to become discouraged by what appears to be unanswered prayer; but Jesus tells us we “ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Persistent prayer reminds us that our hope is in God alone, and even though God may seem silent at times, there are always blessings in the prayers themselves — to build character and faith, and to increase hunger for the Lord.
Unanswered Prayers Are Invitations to God’s Heart
On one occasion, the disciples asked of Jesus, “Teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).
Luke 18:1-8 (NKJV)
1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” 6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
They no doubt noticed the relationship Jesus had with His Father in heaven, and craved that kind of connection.
“There is much more to prayer than making requests of God,”
Stuart Briscoe said. “God created mankind for fellowship and communion, to be ‘friends,’ to delight in each other and to have an ever-deepening relationship. …
This relationship, as it deepens, leads to a fuller understanding of God’s purposes, desires, intentions, or what we often call His will.”
When our prayers appear to go unanswered, God may be drawing us closer; it’s time to step up our prayers in frequency and intensity. God keeps inviting us to His heart so we can learn about His will and ways.
“Prayer is a relational interaction, not merely a service transaction,” Stuart Briscoe said. “Faith is not divine currency that we pay God in order to receive whatever we ask in prayer. Faith is a relational response of trust in what God promises us. … And those who are audacious enough to really live by what God says will see mountains move that God wants moved.” Prayerfully abiding in Christ is an act that is “profoundly relational,” Briscoe said.
If “whatever you ask in prayer” has not happened yet, he said, “do not assume it can’t or won’t. Don’t give up. This promise is an invitation to come further up and further in to knowing God. And those who have taken God up on this invitation testify that the audacious promises of God are for those audacious enough to believe them.” We must persevere in prayer.
Even Jesus Had Unanswered Prayers
Philip Yancey reminds us that even Jesus had “unanswered prayers” while He lived on earth. He spent an entire night in prayer before choosing His disciples, likely asking the Father to point out the best followers — the cream of the crop. Yet He then chose Judas.
And impulsive Peter. And the “Sons of Thunder.” Did the Father answer His prayer?
Were these the exact men Jesus needed to become disciples?
“The Son of God himself could only work with the talent pool available,” Yancey said.
Then, when Jesus struggled in prayer, pleading in the Garden of Gethsemane, He “offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death” (Hebrews 5:7).
Hebrews 5:7-9 (NKJV)
7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,
But Jesus was not delivered from death. He prayed for one thing, and got something else. “When Jesus prayed to the one who could save him from death, he did not get that salvation; instead, he got the salvation of the world,” Yancey said.
Jesus prayed another prayer that is yet unanswered. He prayed for all who would believe through the disciples’ message; he prayed they would be one, in unity. Clearly, this prayer is yet unanswered in the church.
One final prayer remains unanswered. Jesus said, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). We still await the Kingdom in its fullness.
Kingdom = authority
God Moves Powerfully, Even in Unanswered Prayers
Gary E. Yates — who wrote about a chaplain’s unanswered prayer for Dale Earnhardt — also wrote, “The greatest demonstrations of God’s power are often found in his answers to our unanswered prayers.”
Yates noted that a man named Bob Mitchell In the 1950’s prayed for the safety of five young missionaries who went to the jungles of South America in order to share the gospel with the Auca Indians. But Jim Elliott and his four companions were brutally murdered.
“Years later,” Yates wrote, “Mitchell attended a conference in Europe and met an evangelist who was one of the Auca Indians that had murdered Elliott and the other missionaries. Only God could orchestrate that kind of answer to an unanswered prayer.”
“From Killers to Christians: Fifty Years Ago, Five Missionaries Dared to Bring the Gospel to Ecuador’s fearsome Auca Indians and Helped Work a Miracle”
