Skip to main content

Does God Answer Prayer?



Crying out to God in desperation and feeling like He just doesn't answer can feel isolating. It can make us feel unloved and utterly alone. Sometimes, we feel like God just isn't answering our prayers. We think that because He didn't come out and just give us the answer we wanted, that He didn't answer. We get upset that He didn't give us an answer how we wanted Him to answer us. 

The dictionary defines an answer as a response or reaction to a question, statement or situation. So given this broad of a definition, He may be answering us, just maybe not how we would like Him to answer us. 

James 5:16 says, "The effectual prayers of a righteous man availeth much." I Peter 3:12 says that "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer..." So scripture tells us that He does indeed listen to our prayer. We know from Jeremiah 29:11 that God's plans are to "prosper you and not to harm you. To give you a hope and a future." So logically speaking, why would a God who wants good for us and who listens to us not answer us? 

When we face trials, God desires to walk with us through them. In Isaiah 43:3, we are told, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." He also says that "He will prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies" in Psalm 23:5. So again, a God who loves us, desires good for us and listens to us most definitely answers our prayers. 

We must remember that: 

Silence is an answer. 
No is an answer. 
Showing you your sin is an answer. 
Asking you a question is an answer. 
Sitting with you in your pain is an answer.  
Re-directing you to focus on something else is an answer. 

Just because God doesn't give us what we pray for, that doesn't mean He didn't answer our prayers. Several years ago, I prayed that God would keep my marriage together. I earnestly prayed continuously that God would change his heart. I beseeched the Lord to not let my marriage fall apart. 

The divorce was final about six months later. I could look at this situation two different ways: A) God didn't answer my prayer. I wanted my marriage to be saved, and God didn't answer my prayer. Or B) God wanted to save me from my marriage and the abuse I was enduring. God answered my prayer in a way I didn't want Him to, but I needed Him to. The desire of my heart was to just save my marriage. God's desire for my heart was for me to follow Him. So do I want HIM to answer my prayers, or do I just want what I want? 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Jesus Would Advocate for Civil Disobedience

In March, executive orders from governors across the country forced us to stay home, to close schools and churches and to shut down private businesses. Businesses were classified as either "essential" or "non-essential." All businesses deemed "non-essential" were forced to close. This included markets, clothing stores, boutiques, dine-in restaurants, and beauty salons. State parks, city parks, beaches, walking trails, lakes, and other wide open spaces were closed as well. Many people feel that the "social distancing," as it has come to be known, and stay at home executive orders violate their constitutional rights, such as our First Amendment right to freely exercise our religion, our right to peaceably assemble, and that we shall not be deprived of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Some of the people who feel their rights have been violated have decided to exercise their First Amendment right to protest. Some have even chosen...
3 comments
Read more

Covert Red Flags: The Real Things You Should Be Looking Out For in Relationships

Your relationship with your spouse should be the closest human relationship you ever have. As we are dating, we are assessing whether or not that person could potentially fit into our inner circle. This causes us to be on high alert for red flags. Most red flags are obvious--lack of communication, anger issues, irresponsibility, controlling behavior, abuse, etc. A quick Google search will bring up list upon list of red flags we should look out for. Being rude to waitstaff, not making your relationship public, not caring about XYZ, stone walling, gaslighting, and more can all be found on most lists. But what about the covert red flags? Those things that are less obvious. My first marriage taught me to look out for the overt red flags like the ones found in every advice column. My second marriage taught me to look out for covert red flags, ones that I never even realized were red flags until I could look back. The entire time we dated, I kept looking for the overt red fla...
2 comments
Read more

Because of Who I Am

Someone posted on Facebook the other day the following: Why would you fight for someone who clearly doesn't want you? Please let them go. You are valuable, just not to them. I thought about it for a minute, because I indeed fought for my husband when he clearly didn't want me. I fought for our marriage, even when he had zero interest in making our marriage work. He had already checked out and told me point-blank that he just didn't want to work on our marriage, but yet I fought on my knees before the Lord. Throughout the first few months of our separation, I prayed day-in and day-out. I beseeched the Lord to intercede. I rebuked Satan, and I prostrated myself before the Lord God Almighty. I went to therapy, and I watched sermons online. I listened to every Jimmy Evans podcast I could find. I journaled and devoured God's Word. I wrote my husband scriptures and prayers daily. I soon filled a 100-page journal front and back. Shortly after he left in June...
Post a Comment
Read more