I assume that I am not alone in the realization that I take prayer far too lightly. To be not only permitted, but invited to converse with the Almighty God - and in that conversation, encouraged to bring to Him my every care, concern, want, and need - is nothing short of remarkable. That JEHOVAH is willing to condescend to stooping to listen to my pathetic cries - that He deems my insignificant concerns significant - should provoke far more prayer from me. In fact, it should be an all-consuming privilege exercised in every available moment.
Because God invites us to prayer, His answers to prayer become of the utmost importance. Not only do we desperately need His provision, His counsel, and His intervention, but we also need the verification of His word. He told us to come to Him in prayer, which implies that He intends to answer when we pray. This brings us to the dilemma we're going to explore in this post: what do we do when prayer appears to go unanswered?
Considering the Possibilities
If you've been around church for any length of time, you've probably heard the pithy truth that God always answers prayers, and He does so in one of three ways:
YES
NO
WAIT
There's truth to that statement. I don't necessarily like it all the time, but it is true. And clearly in this post we are concerned with the NOs and the WAITs since those are the ones that leave us scratching our heads and wondering where God is. We must also consider James 4:3, which tells us, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume itupon your lusts." Ouch. James has peculiar and consistent way of leaving a spiritual bruise. But what about when we consider all of the above, and our hearts still ache? What then?
An Often Overlooked Consideration
While James 4:3 and the wisdom behind YES-NO-WAIT are not easy to accept, they also do not always address the most heart-wrenching unanswered prayers. If you're like me, you've had a few occasions where you believe in all good conscience that your prayer is valid. You have sought His will in His word. You have give your best efforts to live according to His word and to prioritize the Lord above all else. You have exercised faith in His word, believing each of His promises that are applicable to your situation. You have patiently waited for Him. What you requested is good. You may even have Scripture to support that it is good. And yet...the Lord remains silent. You cannot discern whether the answer is WAIT, or a resounding NO. At times, you may even struggle to discern if God heard you. Perhaps you begin again, searching your heart for sin, reconsidering your request, wondering if you have done something that has left Him unwilling to respond to the cry of your heart. What do you do then?
Indulge me for a moment. There is an commonly used illustration about a one-armed judo student who wins a championship against the odds. If you've never heard the story, here it is:
A 10-year-old boy decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move.
“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”
“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the sensei replied.
Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.
Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.
This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.
“No,” the sensei insisted, “Let him continue.”
Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.
“Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”
“You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defence for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”
The story is often used to illustrate the importance of working to our strengths. It is a fine illustration for that point. However, I would argue that the story has a much better application as pertains to the prayer dilemma we are considering.
Sometimes the Lord denies you something, not because that thing is bad, or that you are undeserving, or that you would be a bad steward of it; rather, God may deny your desire because He knows it would give the Enemy leverage on you. It may be that the lack of that thing - whatever it may be - is the very thing that affords you victory in some other, more important area of life.
NO (or maybe WAIT) may not be because God does not want that thing for you. It may be because He can see what you can't. Because He knows the road ahead, the battles that must be fought, the events of eternal significance that He wants to use you for, and that a legitimately good thing may give the world, the flesh, or the devil the opportunity to wrench a much better thing away from you, or from those around you.
The Sum of the Matter
It is not easy - few things in the Christian walk are - but stay on your knees, and keep looking up. Remember what the Lord Jesus said in Luke 11:9-13:
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
What does this statement from the Lord assure us of? That when you ask, He will answer. And when He answers, it will always been good. Good may not always be what you or I think it is. It may not always include the outcome we desire. It may not happen on our schedule. We may eventually come to understand His response, or we may not. When that happens, take the ache to God alongside your request. Ask Him for understanding in addition to your heart's desire. And when even then you don't understand, and even then it doesn't feel like His response is good, exercise faith, and thank Him for His response anyway, knowing what is true of Him. Remember that He promised that He would hear you (has He ever broken a promise?), and that whatever He does is good.
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. - Psalm 34:8-10
O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. - Psalm 107:1
Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant. - Psalm 135:3
The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. - Psalm 145:9
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: - Philippians 1:6
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. - Philippians 2:13
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