“Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, “May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,“ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.” (Mark 11:22-24 NLT)
Are there things for which you used to pray, but no longer see the need? Yes, of course, some prayers have been answered, so, our prayers shift to thanksgiving and gratitude. But what about the ones that haven’t yet been answered, but you grew tired of asking or discouraged because the answer didn’t come? Might it be you stopped praying too soon?
Do you recall that it was 25 years between the time God promised Abraham a son and when Isaac was born? And yes, you likely remember that his wife grew tired of waiting, doubted God, and encouraged Abraham to take things into his own hands, namely her handmaiden, Hagar. What’s my point?
Even the “father of our faith,” Abraham, grew tired of waiting. It’s natural and normal for us to wonder why the Lord is taking so long to answer our prayers, but we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that silence doesn’t mean absence. Just because we can’t see results doesn’t mean they aren’t still on their way.
There are people’s salvation for whom I’ve been praying for years, and other needs for which I’ve been praying for many months. You know my heart for my neighbors, but until recently there has been little indication that any of them have paid any attention to my notes to them. In recent weeks three of my neighbors have come to worship at our church, some bringing friends or family with them.
Hope is hope because it doesn’t give up, it endures, it perseveres, it doesn’t quit! I’m convinced too often our prayers aren’t answered because we quit asking, we stop offering our petitions and requests to the Lord because our heart hardens and our faith shrinks. F. B. Meyer speaks to the this when he wrote: “The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.”
Could it be the problem in our prayers isn’t God’s hesitation to answer, but our hesitation to ask? I think of temptation and sin with which we wrestle daily. Might it be the Lord hasn’t delivered us, not because His arms are too short or His power inadequate, but because we simply fail to ask Him with believing faith.
When we have more faith in our inability to overcome sin than God’s ability to deliver us, that’s not God not answering, that’s us not asking. Literally every day the Lord answers my prayers, often in surprising or unexpected ways, but other prayers that I offer, remain unanswered. Unanswered prayer continues to be a stumbling block for many believers, largely, I’m convinced, because the enemy uses them to discourage us and disorient our faith.
When Satan can keep us focused on the prayers God hasn’t yet answered, too often he can keep us from remembering the ones He clearly HAS answered. Here’s a word from the Lord: “I’m working! Trust Me!”
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 