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My Unanswered Prayer ... Now What?
Is there such a thing as an unanswered prayer? If you were to take an honest look at all the prayers you've ever prayed, how many do you think are unanswered?The truth is, God looks at "answers" differently than we do. Because God has a plan for each person, only He knows what's best and only He can help us fulfill our purpose in life. I recently read a great book on prayer called, "Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference?" by Phillip Yancy.
In this book the author talks about how we, as believers, sometimes view God as a "Santa Claus" that serves at our beck and call, when the reality is that God sees the entire picture, and our unanswered prayer is simply that He has a better idea.
Sometimes God wants us to learn something specific by allowing us to go through the very things we want to be delivered from. And He knows the ONLY way we'll learn from it is if we have to. That being said, there are some things that will hinder the answers to prayers. Here are a couple of them:
Unforgiveness. God is really specific about having an ongoing relationship with each of us. SO, that means in order to stay in the flow, we have to do what He says to do. Forgive...yup, even if we don't want to, it's hard, or it's not fair.
Having the wrong motive. God continually measures motive in every single thing we do. We can pray all we want for something, trying to convince ourselves and Him that it's a great idea. But God sees all the way through the heart, and if the motive isn't pure, we're in for a lot less than we're hoping for.
Now, don't get the idea that just because you think your prayer is unanswered, that God didn't hear you. God hears and answers all prayers, regardless of the method we use to say them. You don't need a model prayer to get God to hear you. It's that simple and it's that complicated. Wouldn't it be great if our conversations with God would be in audible form? It sure would be easier to have a real conversation. Or we could talk to Him on email or texting whenever a crisis arose. What a concept...
So, what do we do with all that unanswered prayer? Do we just throw in the towel and give up?
That's the worst thing you can do. Trusting God means your ongoing relationship is just that...ongoing. It means He is always in control, always has a handle on what's happening in your life, and mostly, always knows what's best. And no, that doesn't mean you can have a back-up plan in place just in case you don't get the answer you want. I think many times God gives us trust tests. Sometimes HE checks to see if we want the answer to our request MORE than we want Him. Do we REALLY trust Him or are we double minded if we don't see the results we want, the way we want them? Do we continually seek God's hand, when we really ought to be seeking His face?
Related Topics:
Do Your Christian Prayers REALLY Work?
God's Amazing Grace
What is the Soul?
How Do I Find Some Life Balance and Purpose?
Miracle Prayer
More about Spiritual Growth
Unanswered Prayer (top of page)
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