I was lamenting somewhat with a friend over unanswered prayers in my life. I believe strongly in praying for others. I believe that God has called me to pray in a serious way for others. Of course, I pray without ceasing for the needs in my life and family, but for some reason, there are seasons of drought with my prayers. I think everyone feels like that sometimes, but when I spoke with my friend, the pain of those seemingly unanswered prayers was visceral.
Is Anything Too Hard for God?
She lovingly reminded me of a few people in the Bible who may have felt the same way. I listened intently as I desired some spiritual encouragement. She reminded me of some situations in the Bible I never thought about. The first example was with Abraham. We all know he had the very long and seemingly impossible arrival of the promised child in his and Sarah’s old age. But I had completely forgotten about his intercession for others in light of his great need for answered prayers. What must Abraham have gone through emotionally as he waited? Just two chapters after God declared, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” regarding His assurance that Sarah would indeed bear a child in her old age, Abraham interceded for King Abimelech, his wife, and his maidservants, and they bore children (Genesis 20:17-18). We have no time frames, but Abraham apparently prayed about a situation that happened rather immediately. But Abraham had to wait 25 years to see the results of God’s promise for himself. I am sure he and Sarah prayed faithfully and expectantly daily. Maybe three times a day. Possibly all night, Sarah cried out in prayer for the long-awaited promise. No answers. Maybe they toyed with the thoughts of an unanswered prayer even though God said it would happen. They tried to help God out with the arrival of Ishmael. This can sometimes be the reality in our own prayer lives.
Then there was Daniel. A mighty man of God. One who possessed an “excellent spirit” (Daniel 6:3). A man in whom King Belshazzar could see that the spirit of God resided, and one who had great wisdom and understanding (Daniel 5:14). Daniel too, was an intercessor for his people, Israel, as seen in Daniel 9:3-19. Yet there was a season of unanswered prayer for that great and faithful man of God. For three full weeks, Daniel was mourning and fasting. He wanted to understand the vision he had received from God. After some time, he was assured that he was greatly loved by God, and that from the day he set himself to understand, his prayer had been heard of God! (Daniel 10:10-12).
Daniel’s supplication was heard, but the answer was delayed. This is a great challenge for all praying Christians and the very sentiment of my heart when speaking with my friend. We must always believe God’s promise that He hears and answers prayer. He says, “...before they call I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24). God does not live in our dimension of time... “From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psalm 90:2). He has great power, and His understanding is infinite (Psalm 147:5). Though it is sometimes hard to remember, God knows what He is doing, and He answers our prayers.
The last example my friend reminded me of is the great Apostle Paul. There is no question that he had a close walk with God. He was a mighty man of truth in the early church. He was a leader, a servant, and an intercessor. God wrought mighty miracles by the hands of Paul (Acts 19:11-17). Yet, he had unanswered prayers. We know of at least one shared in 2 Corinthians 12. Paul prayed for the Lord to remove a thorn in His flesh, and God did not answer that prayer the way he desired. Instead, God gave Paul His sufficient grace through that weakness.
There are times when we simply must travail in prayer.
After my conversation with my friend, she prayed for me and ended the prayer with, “May she see the travail of her soul.” This was a curious statement to me. I looked it up in Isaiah 53:11. Referring to Jesus, I was reminded by this passage that we must keep pressing forward and trust that we will see the good in what we suffer, and in what we don’t necessarily receive as we might desire in answer to our prayers. The grief and anguish of Jesus’ soul that He suffered through ultimately had a satisfying result. We have to keep pressing through on our knees. Not just for the answers we want through prayer, but to get closer to God. To both receive and be happy with His answers.
Call to Action
His grace is sufficient. Our God is faithful. I remind myself of the truth that God’s word will not return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11). He said that He hears and answers our prayers, and that is just what we must believe He will do.
“God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man that he should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19).
All scripture taken from the King James Version.
