Why has God turned a deaf ear to my prayers? What sin have I committed that has caused God to turn His back on me? Why is God taking such a long time to answer me? I have been praying for so long, but I have no signs that tell me that God hears me; why do I even bother? I wish I was like David, Elijah, Hannah, Daniel, etc; maybe then my prayers would be answered then. God where are you?
Have you even found yourself asking any of the questions above? Those questions/statements are the greatest tragedy in the lives of many Christians today; so few of us believe the power and effectiveness of prayer. One of my favorite responses to the question, ‘why does God not answer our prayers?’ can be found in the life and book of Job.
I can go on for days about different reasons why our prayers are not answered, but I feel God taking us in a different direction today. As I scheme through the chapters and verses in Job, I read Job and his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar in almost 37 chapters trying to fashion different reasons why God is not answering Job’s prayers. And then in just 4 chapters, God himself comes down and simply reminds them of his wondrous works and the unfathomable wonder that He is, and immediately Job begins to sing to a different tune. For 30 chapters, he bragged about how he had helped the poor and been obedient to God: “I cry out unto you, O God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me.” (Job 30:20). But in the last chapter, these were his words: “I know you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know…My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:2-6)
There are different answers to the question of why we may feel that God does not answer our prayers, and we will look into a few of them throughout this week. However, if you find yourself asking the questions outlined in the first paragraph, think about the awesome wonder of God, and if that does not give you reassurance, then you are utterly hopeless. Though we may be unable to comprehend, every plan and purpose of God is perfect. God does indeed answer EVERY prayer. His response may not be what you hoped or expected it to be, but He does answer nonetheless. His responses are either YES, NO, or WAIT. Whatever the case may be, please never forget that God is perfect, and His perfection will never be thwarted, not even for the sake of the imperfect children that He loves so dearly.
So today brethren, I leave you with one question; is the arm of the Lord too short to save, or His ear too dull to hear you? I don’t know about yours, but my God can do all things, and I will be damned if I allow my simple mind to limit His limitless power. I may not see or hear him, but I will always remember the things he did (see Job 38-41, the entire Bible, and your entire life), and I will have faith that He can do all things and that no plans of His can be thwarted. I will continue to trust Him, even when it does not make sense; that is what faith is all about. Are you going to be faithful?
Stay blessed and spread the word.
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DOES GOD ANSWER PRAYERS?