Christian Living

WHEN OUR PRAYER SEEMS TO GO UNANSWERED

by paul hoffmaster
03/04/18
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I believe that one of the ingredients that is used to challenge faith is unanswered prayer.  Many people have their faith shaken due to what they believe is God’s failure to answer their prayer.  People have been taught that God’s response to a Believer’s petition is either granted or denied.  To soften His denial of the request, there is offered a glimmer of hope that God may be saying “Wait.”  What if God does not answer our prayer and we continue to hold on assuming that it will be fulfilled sometime later.  The longer we wait the more frustrated we become and the danger of shaken faith syndrome raises its ugly head.

 Satan sees the opportunity to inject a virus into our faith when he sees us struggling to have our prayers answered.  Satan loves to introduce thoughts that question the integrity of God’s Word.  He will emphasize Scriptures that claim certain results which are contingent on the Believer’s faith.  He will then repudiate the same verses if no evidence of its fulfillment is displayed.  He will challenge the Believer’s faith or understanding as to the intent of the Word.  The longer the Christian waits for the answer, the thinner his foundational faith could become.

 I was at a restaurant last week and just casually asked the waitress how she was doing.  She responded that she was going through some difficult times.  Her husband, who had been in remission from cancer for almost two years, was just informed that the cancer had returned with a vengeance.  She said, “We have prayed, and prayed, and prayed.”  She just could not understand.  How do we respond in such a situation?  Do we jump on the prayer wagon with other well meaning people and then watch the potential down hill ride?  PLEASE understand that I believe God can heal and does heal, but there is also evidence that many are not healed, even though their healing request lines up with God’s Word.

 This article is not a treatise on prayer, but an open invitation to understand the sovereignty and compassion of God.  We need to bring our faith filled request before God and then leave it with Him.  Be assured God hears our prayers, and what He does with them is not for us to question.  We must trust Him and rest in the assurance that He is aware of our concerns.  If a prayer is not answered the way we want, we must keep our focus on God’s love and assurance that He is always near and He will never leave us comfortless.  It is not time to doubt our faith, but to expand our faith that God will see us through whatever valley we face.

 I needed to assure this waitress of God’s love.  Instead, I took the popular road of saying that I would pray for her and her family.  I did pray, but I failed to come along side of her with the love and presence of God.  Let us not be so quick to respond with a distant commitment to pray and forget that we are an extension of God’s love that needs to be visible to those who are traveling through faith challenging experiences.  Prayer with compassion is what God expects from every Believer, especially when it comes to responding to those in need.  May God grant us understanding as to the intent of His Word!