Unanswered Prayers

In Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount, He assured His listeners that “your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (Matthew 6:8) Some have challenged the existence and goodness of God by pointing to unanswered prayers. Their logic goes as such:

1. If God exists, He is supposed to know everything;

2. Yet there are prayers that go unanswered;

3. Thus, God is not all-knowing, and unworthy of worship;

4. If He is all-knowing and yet prayers go unanswered, then He is uncaring, and does not care for His creation, and thus unworthy of worship as well.

Is this accusation true? Might there be other reasons why our prayers go unanswered? Let us look to the Scriptures to see 3 reasons for unanswered prayers.

#1 – Lack Of Purity

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:1-2)

 From this passage, we see that God is all-powerful and all-knowing. However, our sins cause God to turn away from us and refuse to answer our prayers. On the other hand, the Scriptures tell us that “the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers” (1 Peter 3:12). If our prayers are going unanswered, how about checking whether our behaviour and conduct are aligned with God’s wishes?

#2 – Lack Of Persistence

And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? (Luke 18:6-7)

In the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8), we see a widow continually coming to an unjust judge with a request. Eventually, the unjust judge fulfils her request due to her persistence. The LORD Jehovah, our Father in Heaven, is the Righteous Judge over all the Earth (cf. Genesis 18:25). Will He not do much better things for us than the unjust judge did for the widow – provided we come before Him persistently with our prayers and requests? If our prayers are going unanswered – don’t stop, keep praying and ask for the Lord’s help!

#3 – Lack Of Profitability

And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

In this passage, we see that Paul was afflicted with an unspecified physical ailment – a “thorn in the flesh”. Though he “besought the Lord thrice”, it was not removed. The Scriptures tell us that the reason why Paul had this physical affliction was to prevent him from becoming proud (“exalted above measure”) over the many things that had been revealed to him. They also tell us that God’s reason for not removing the thorn in the flesh despite Paul’s persistent prayers was because God wanted Paul to realize that God’s grace was sufficient, and that even though he was weak physically, he was strong with Christ on his side.

Might a reason for unanswered prayers be because our all-knowing God knows that our requests will not be profitable for us? For example, we might pray that a particular person will fall in love with us, but God knows that he / she has no interest in spiritual things. Perhaps we are praying that we can get into a particular course of study or line of work, but God sees that such will cause us difficulty in assembling to worship. If our prayers are going unanswered, why not consider that what we are asking for might not always be profitable for us?

Conclusion

Brethren, prayer and thanksgiving ought to be an important part of our lives as a Christian (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18). But if our prayers are going unanswered – let’s reflect on whether it might be due to a lack of purity, a lack of persistence, or a lack of profitability.