You’re not alone in doubting God’s attention to your supplications. You’re no different from any other Christian
That was something Job had been through before. God’s chosen king David prayed the same thing in the Psalms: “How long, O Lord?” (Ps. 13:1). Like the other prophets, Habakkuk asked God, “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?” Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? (Hab. 1:2).
Keep in mind that the Holy Spirit co-wrote the Bible with human writers like Job, David, and Habakkuk, so you can’t just write off their anguished pleas. God understands your anguish, therefore He provides prayers and models to follow even when you feel completely helpless.
Why does God sometimes seem silent while we pray? A harsh God? Why does He keep throwing us these curveballs? And if not, does God have other, more substantial motives and goals in mind?
When it seems like God isn’t listening to our prayers, there are, fortunately, some simple explanations to consider.
Reasons Why God Does Not Rescue Us
God’s choice not to intervene in our lives can be attributed to at least five different factors. We encourage you to seek the Lord and ask him to reveal which of these explanations applies to your current predicament if you or anyone you know is experiencing difficulty.
We have our doubts that he can.
Believers see God’s hand at work.
Faith is required to receive God’s favor, as stated in Hebrews 11:6. One “must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Psalm 116:10) for God to hear and answer their prayers (Hebrews 11:6).
Although God is capable of overcoming our unbelief, he often chooses not to. He never coerces somebody into believing something against their will.
The good news is that we need only have faith as small as a mustard seed to allow God to change our lives. What really counts is not only what faith we have, but rather where we place our faith.
We have to put our faith in him.
Our faith starts off humble but grows stronger with each test that we face. When we regularly put our faith in God’s ability to provide for us, that faith, like a muscle, becomes stronger over time. We are compelled to seek help from our omnipotent God when we are confronted with difficulties, heartbreaks, and events that are beyond our control.
Our trust increases each time we recognize that we are helpless and witness him working on our behalf in spite of it. Soon enough, we will have a large list of prayers that have been answered, which will make it simpler and easier for us to rely on him.
Our lives are marred by sin.
If we deliberately want to defy God, we cannot at the same time expect him to bless our efforts. When our children disobey us, our role as human parents is to withhold the benefits that we have for them. The same may be said of God.
Whether or not we have a good relationship with God is more essential than whether or not we are well, wealthy, or happy. He frequently employs trying situations as a means of bringing to our attention how greatly we rely on him.
We need to grow in some way or another as a result of this experience.
We come to realize that God is the one who provides for us when we are laid off from our jobs. When we take care of our ailing loved ones, we gain patience, kindness, and the ability to put others’ needs before our own. When we are forced to interact with challenging coworkers, we are forced to learn to look at them through the eyes of Jesus rather than our own.
What if, when we find ourselves in a challenging position, rather than asking “Why?”, we asked “What?”, as in “What can I take away from this experience?”
Clearly, God is up to something spectacular.
You are unable to understand it at the moment, but he is figuring out his mission in relation to your circumstance. There is nothing that can stop the excellent plans that God has for his children.
The things that God has prepared in advance for those who love Him cannot be perceived by the human senses; neither the human ear nor the human eye, nor can they be found inside the human heart (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Remember That There Is No Such Thing As Unanswered Prayers
There is a significant distinction between God not responding to our prayers and God rejecting our petitions for the reasons that were presented earlier in this article. My faith has led me to believe that a Christian’s prayers are always heard and that God never ignores them.
God is the best possible father, and we are honored to call ourselves his children. What kind of parent on earth would ignore their child’s begging for help? It’s not very good. And yet, what earthly parent can be said to always instantly respond to his kid’s request in precisely the way that the youngster desires? A person who is either narrow-minded or slothful, or both of these things.
But our heavenly Father is a kind God who is neither myopic nor slothful in his thinking. He is never just a genie who grants our desires; rather, he is constantly working toward something more significant. Even while God always hears and answers our prayers, he rarely does it in the form that we expect or at the time that we anticipate.
He may respond with a “Yes,” “No,” or “Wait” to your question. The most difficult aspect is going to be waiting. A no is typically not a problem for me. However, it is agonizing to wait for answers to life’s most heartfelt petitions. Will the one I care about one day put their faith in Jesus? Will there ever be a time of healing? When am I going to finally obtain that new job that I have been praying for?
Even if we only hear crickets, having faith in the love and sovereignty of God will give us rich ground for persistent prayer. Even if we only hear crickets.
A Prayer For Asking for God’s Help
Dear Merciful Heavenly Father,
Right now I am praying about my current situation. I ask that you would grant me serenity regarding the things that I can’t change and knowledge regarding the things that I can change. I am pleading with you to intervene in my life and make your will mine.
Help me to have clarity so that I can identify your voice, and lead the way. Please assist me in overcoming these challenges so that I can celebrate a triumph in you once I reach the other side. Even though this storm is occurring right now, I acknowledge and praise you for the goals that you have for my life and I offer you all the honor and acclaim.
In your name, I pray. Amen.
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