God wants us to have everlasting joy -- especially when He responds, “No, it will be done in My time, not yours. In September of Jackie’s senior year, Matt died. The hardest thing about praying hard is enduring unanswered prayers. By definition, praying hard is praying when it’s hard to pray. And God doesn’t settle for what is good. If you don’t guard your heart, unresolved anger toward God can undermine faith. I refused to believe that it was coincidental. I was sure that this row house was the answer we were looking for, so it was both confusing and frustrating. We had all prayed for Matt to live, and God answered with a wondrous “YES!” (John 11:25). I don’t understand why loved ones have lost babies. God, I was playing for you. It was one of those “What’s going on, God?” moments. But one way or another, I felt prompted to call him. All Rights Reserved. There was no For Sale sign on the property, but I knew I needed to obey that prayer prompting, so I looked up his name in the Yellow Pages and found several listings for Robert Thomas. Unforgiveness (Mark 11:24-25), selfishness (Proverbs 21:13), doubt (Matthew 21:21-22), greed (James 4:2-3), pride (2 Chronicles 7:14-15), and stubbornness (Zechariah 7:11-13) hinder God’s desire to answer prayer. Then I transferred to Central Bible College, where I earned first-team all-American honors my senior season. Eventually, my anger turned to mourning, and then my mourning turned to begging. AllAboutPrayer.org, Any delay or unexpected outcome must not dishearten us. Excerpted with permission from The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, copyright Zondervan. Something such as a question or letter that is unanswered has not been answered. I had met the owner a year before, but I’m not very good at remembering names. Looking back, what prayers have you prayed that you are so glad God didn’t answer with a yes? So sometimes the answer to our prayers is no and you’ll never understand why. And when Jackie sings of God’s greatness, her devoted husband, Michael, accompanies her on the conga drums (Jeremiah 29:11). All Rights Reserved. That got real old real fast, so we started looking for office space. Unanswered Prayer – Understanding Answers Sometimes, God will answer, “No” to our desperate prayers. Unanswered Prayer – Unexpected Answers We all experience irritation when our best efforts to communicate result in an unsatisfactory response -- or worse, no response at all. It took a few days to recuperate from that disappointment, but we resumed our search. But here’s some good news: What we perceive as unanswered prayers are often the greatest answers. When answering prayer, God responds first to our attitude, much as a parent responds to a precious child (Psalm 103:13-14). Their common interests drew them closer. What we perceive as unanswered prayers are often the greatest answers. ©2020 Reverso-Softissimo. We want to hear from you! I knew God wouldn’t take his life because Matt could make such a difference in this world.” She prayed for his healing. Not only was God not answering our prayers; it felt like He was opposing our efforts. “I was first attracted to Mike’s intense love for God. I chose to believe it was providential. And I still don’t know why. I knew He could do it, but for reasons unknown to me, He chose not to. God wants us to bring our every need to Him as He answers (yes or no) according to His character and will. © 2002-2020 Are you experiencing unanswered prayer? It simply states that there are some mysteries that won’t be revealed until we cross into eternity. I don’t understand why my father-in-law passed away in the prime of life. Later, I blamed myself, thinking I didn’t pray hard enough, or maybe I accidentally missed praying one day.” Following graduation, Jackie began attending a Christian university. A few weeks later, we found a row home in the 600 block of 3rd Street NE, just two blocks from Union Station. And you may never know why. FaithGateway is brought to you by HarperCollins Christian Publishing and is dedicated to helping you grow and share your faith. It felt like a second sucker punch that knocked the faith out of us. In fact, it may never make sense on this side of eternity. What does God want to complete in us through prayer … Prayer: Lay it at His Feet and Leave it There. “Once I actually voiced my suffering to another, the healing began, and I experienced God’s love and strength again” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). A primary reason why prayer is unanswered is sin. As a high-school junior, Jackie hoped to attend the same out-of-state university as Matt. Do you trust that His plan is better than yours? [tweet this]. There can be many reasons for this, and the Scriptures suggest why and how our prayers are being dealt with by the One who is so tender and loving, who Himself loves our communing with God the Father, for He, Himself, is our representative (Hebrews 4:15).
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