Unanswered Prayers!

January 4, 2023

Unanswered Prayers!

Prayer is not always easy.  Sometimes we struggle to discover a style of prayer that fits our season of life.  Sometimes we struggle to make the time and reserve the place to pray.  Sometimes a particular prayer has gone unanswered for too long.

Unanswered prayers are a challenge for those who pray often.  Oh, the unanswered prayers for small things do not slow us up much.  It’s the unanswered prayers for the really big things that mess us up.

I pray for a someone to marry and no one calls or comes my way.

I pray for a good test result and the doctor’s report is cancer.

I pray for a promotion at work and an undeserving person gets the job.

I pray for my marriage to be healthy and the divorce papers still come.

I pray for healing in an important relationship and distance continues.

I pray for depression to end and the distress and discouragement go on.

I pray for my child to get past her addiction and the drugs continue to win.

It’s the unanswered prayers for the really big things that mess us up.  Our desire to pray is diminished.  Our faith in prayer is weakened.  Our thirst for prayer is decreased.

We gradually step away from the daily rhythm of prayer…even for the small things.  The place we had reserved for prayer slowly becomes cluttered with things unimportant.  We find ourselves no longer speaking about the promises of God or the power of prayer. 

Unanswered prayers can quickly erode our faith in Jesus, our confidence in God’s concern for my circumstances, and our practice of daily prayer and contemplation.  The discipline of prayer is eventually surrendered to something else.

In II Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul describes a physical challenge that frequently steals away his joy in what the Holy Spirit is doing in his life and through his ministry of planting churches.  In verse 8 Paul says that he prayed and prayed and prayed for this “thorn” to be removed (healed!). 

Paul writes; “Three times I appealed (prayed!) to the Lord about this, that it would leave me…”  Paul knew what it was like to pray earnestly and continually and with deep faith and still have his prayer for healing go unanswered.

You know what it is like to have an unanswered prayer.  So do I. 

I prayed for days and days for Jesus to show me the way out of a difficult situation.  There was no answer. 

I prayed for weeks and weeks for Jesus to show me how to live in that same difficult situation.  There was no answer. 

I prayed for months and months for Jesus to deliver me, show me, or teach me how to live in that same increasingly more difficult situation.  There was no answer.

The days and weeks and months turned into one year and then two years and then three years.  There was no answer. 

Then one night about midnight I got out of bed, put on my clothes, and went for a walk.  It was the kind of walk where you pray your heart and mind and soul until there is nothing left.  It felt like that prayer might be my last prayer. 

I pleaded, I begged, and I appealed to Jesus.  I prayed! 

I demanded an answer, I shouted for a response, and I cried out in desperation.  I prayed! 

I listened in silence, I spoke quietly, and I let the tears fall to the ground.  I prayed!

As I prayed, the hours passed until dawn.  Just before Jesus lit up the morning sky, He gave me another day to trust Him and obey Him.  And just then, Jesus released a gentle, warm rain over me.  By the time I made it home, I was covered on the outside with Jesus’ answer to my prayer. 

Trust me, obey me, love me; my grace is sufficient for this difficult season in your life.

Paul prays three times for healing and deliverance and restoration in his life.  Paul’s prayer was not answered in the way he thought.  Rather than strength and release, Jesus gave Paul grace to live with his struggle.  In II Corinthians 12:9 Paul shares Jesus’ answer; “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

The answer to Paul’s prayer was God’s promise that His grace is sufficient whenever we feel weak or inadequate for the challenge we are facing.  In verse 10 Paul continues with a new confidence; “Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul found the power of Christ in him to be greater than a healing of a physical ailment or deliverance from the attacks of other people or the problems of life.  Paul found that the grace of God was sufficient no matter how difficult his circumstances. 

When our unanswered prayers are answered with the promise of God’s grace, it is easier to continue praying.  When our unanswered prayers are answered with the promise of Christ’s power in us, it is easier to take delight in the Lord.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug

Note: The photo for today’s post is Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. Just as this geyser is faithful to spew its steam so the Lord God is faithful to love us.