By Marilyn Travis
Throughout my life I have experienced seasons where it seems
my prayers aren’t even heard, yet alone answered. It is discouraging to say the
least. Usually during times of discouragement, I turn to the Bible for answers;
however, if you Google “Bible verses for unanswered prayer” you get:
Matthew 21:22 “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will
receive, if you have faith.”
- Does that
mean I don’t have faith?
James 1:6 “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for
the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the
wind.”
- When my prayers seem to go
unanswered, it sometimes causes me to doubt. Is that the problem?
1 John 5:14 “And this is the confidence that we have toward
him, that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us.”
- Am I
asking out of His will?
Mark 11: 22-24 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.
Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into
the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will
come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask
in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
- Maybe I
just don’t have enough confidence. I don’t believe with all my strength.
If I’d stopped with these verses and didn’t dig deeper, I
would’ve felt defeated, downtrodden and useless. I’d have to ask myself, “Is
that how God would want me to feel?” No! So, what to do?
I believe it can be dangerous to pick single verses out of a
story, chapter or book of the Bible without reading the entire text. Getting
the whole story or statement in context clarifies the verse.
It is also important to recall what I know about God. I know
that God is a God of love. He loves and cares for me. I know He wants the best
for me, and I know He is always good. If I’m listening to voices in my head
that are telling me I’m useless and defeated, I know that is not God’s voice.
I also must realize that I am a human bound by time. I am
especially aware of time. I love clocks. If they tick, chime, cuckoo or play
music, all the better! My house is full of noisy clocks – a sign that my
husband loves me very much! They are also a reminder of the passing of time. I
hear it by the second, quarter, half, three quarter and hour. When I am waiting
for a prayer to be answered, time seems to come to a standstill. God is not
bound by time. He is eternal. I need to remember, “you do not even know what
will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a
little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14)
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a
future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) (I have just taken two single verses out of their
context to make my point, and I have no excuse.)
My point is, there will be times in each of our lives that
we experience what feels like God has forgotten us – that He is not listening,
and that we are not enough. Take heart. Fall back on what you know of God. Dig
deeper. Don’t give up! God loves you. God cares so very deeply about each of
us. God knows best. We may not get the answer to a prayer in this lifetime. God
is not bound by time. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, our ways are
not His ways. He just wants us to trust Him.
I discovered a wonderful blog called Wholeheartedly Messy.
This entry is entitled When It Feels Like God Doesn’t Hear Your Prayers. I
found it to be very powerful. I encourage you to read it. It takes about ten minutes
to read, then a little longer to think about.
God bless you!
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