Lord, Why Aren’t You Answering My Prayers?

That distressing moment when you have been praying earnestly but the answer is not coming as fast as you need it…

A few weeks ago I began asking myself some hard questions. At the beginning of the year, the Lord had promised me a couple of things – really important things. Three months into the year, however, there were no signs of these things coming to pass.

Before you start wondering how promises turned into prayer requests, let me clarify that these promises were based on prayer items that had dominated my prayer time for the better part of last year.

In other words, the Lord hasn’t answered my prayers, yet.

I wonder why? Let’s have a look at some of the answers He would probably give me if I was to ask Him in person.

You’re not ready

“Lord, what do you mean I am not ready? I was ready from the moment I started praying!”

I must confess – these thoughts of frustration run wildly through my mind, especially when what I am praying for is urgent and there is no other way out!

Those of us who have had the experience of waiting to get married can testify to this. You get pushed, ridiculed, encouraged, jabbed and even anointed by all and sundry as you patiently wait for a marriage partner. As I went through this, at some point I was tempted to use a dating site – and yes, I even opened a couple of accounts!

After a while, however, I realized that God had a good reason for making me wait that long. He knew that I was not ready to be a wife, and as I look back now, I agree that I wasn’t!  He also knew that I needed to learn to trust Him to answer my prayer within his timeline, not mine.

What a hard lesson that was! It was only many years later that I realized the wisdom behind the Lord’s actions, and I was glad that He didn’t answer my prayer immediately. I was also glad that during the waiting period, He taught me to trust in Him by ‘removing’ all of my available options.

The Lord answered me when all I could do was trust in Him. My timing was off, His was perfect. The long-awaited answer came when I was ready to receive it – when God had transformed me into a person who was ready to handle what would come afterward – a life of marriage.

If the Lord hasn’t answered you yet, it could be that He is preparing you to receive the answer to your prayers, and handle this answer correctly. Remember, He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows only too well what will happen when we receive what we ask for, and if we receive the answer immediately. Ask Him to show you what He wants you to learn, and go through the learning process patiently as He prepares you for His blessings.

Ecclesiastes 3:11a “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.” (NLT)

It’s not part of the Plan

“What do you mean when you say that what I want is not part of Your plan for me? All the signs are pointing in that direction – I just need you to make things work!”

Any Christian who has not uttered these words of frustration even once in their life is one of a kind. I have said them, many times, and I know many people around me who have said them too!

Interestingly, though, we are always quick to quote the following verse when things are good.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (NLT)

I have found comfort from this verse many times, I admit. As I looked at it again, though, something new struck me.

The plans for my life are His, not mine.

These same plans are tailored by God for my good, i.e. to allow into my life whatever He knows is for my good.

These plans are also laid out to give me a future and hope – a future that involves Him, and a hope that is centered on Him.

The plans that He has for me are not all about me, they are about Him.

Yes, our Father tells us to ask for whatever we need, but He does not promise to give us all that we ask for. He will only give us what fits into His perfect plan for us, and what will be for our good.

What, then would not be for our good, you ask? Well, anything that draws us away from a deep and intimate relationship with God falls into the category of not being for our good.

Let’s go back to my example of marriage. If I had chosen to go my own way and chosen my marriage partner, then gone ahead to tie the knot, things would probably not have worked out for my good. We all know that there is a consequence for every deed, right? I dread to think of what consequences I would have had to deal with if I had taken this course of action – the negative effect on my relationship with God, the constant guilty reminder that I had not waited on God and the nagging feeling that there was probably something better that God had in mind for me. Too much work, if you ask me – it’s so much easier to wait patiently for the Lord!

Though God’s plans for us are not always revealed when we desperately need them, when they eventually come to light, there is such relief in knowing that they are His plans, not ours, and as such, they are perfect!

Abraham waited patiently for the Lord, didn’t he? He was getting on in years, and so was his wife, but that did not deter him from trusting in God. And guess what – he eventually received what the Lord had promised him. How encouraging this is for us who continue to pray and wait patiently for the Lord!

Hebrews 6:15 “Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.” (NLT)

Are you praying earnestly, longing to hear from the Lord and receive what He has promised you? Keep praying and trusting in Him, and let Him answer you at his own time, in His own way, and in accordance with His perfect plan. God commands us to pray – let’s be patient and let Him do what He does best.

 

 

 

Hi, everyone! I hope that you are encouraged to continue in prayer, trusting the Lord to give you what you are asking for, and letting Him answer you in His own way. If you were encouraged by this article, please share it with your family and friends. Have a great week ahead!

 

Did you miss this poem? Check it out! http://www.therelationshipmirror.com/2019/03/28/god-of-mysteries/