Prayers and answers

Do you ever wonder if your prayers are even heard?  Wonder if they figuratively get beyond the ceiling of the room?  Why does this occur?  

I don’t have all the answers, but some.  As I read the book of Job I see that Job, who is a righteous man, cries out to God, yet seemingly hears nothing.  He has friends that arrive and sit with him.  (Job 2:11-13 tells us they got together to come and comfort and mourn with him.  They wept, tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads.  Then sat with Job for seven days before they said a word.  I don’t know about you, but I have very few friends like that!)  After the seven days, Job speaks and is then confronted by his friends that he must have a hidden sin and God is punishing him.  I don’t know about you, but when my prayers are “unheard” this is my first inclination; “What have I done wrong?  What sin have I not confessed?”  And honestly, there are times this is the heart of the matter.  I want God to hear me, to meet a need, but I have an unresolved sin (Psalm 139:23-24) that is intruding in our relationship.  The answer: confess and repent!

But what if there is no unresolved sin issue?  Is my prayer in alignment with the truth of Scripture?  There are times when what we are praying about has already been answered by Scripture, and we simply want a different answer.  My friend Jerome Byrd once said, “Don’t mistake God’s silence for God’s acceptance.  If He has already revealed in Scripture the answer, He isn’t going to change His mind because you prayed about it.” In a similar way, we can pray in our will instead of according to the will of God.  Or we can want the things of God to use for our own desires.  But if none of these are true, then what else could it be?

I have found that my timing is not always God’s timing; in fact, I am usually rushing to catch up or have run way far ahead.  God has a plan to change me, to transform me into His likeness, His character.  And my prayers being “unheard” can drive me to a desperation for this Lord’s guidance and work in my life like nothing else.  Psalm 42 starts out ,”As the deer pants for the water, so my soul pants for You, O God.”  The rest of Psalm 42 is very instructive in our desperation for God and His attention.  Take and read the whole of Psalm 42.

I went through a hard time with my last knee replacement.  I cried out to the Lord for relief and “heard crickets.”  I rested in the ending of Psalm 42.  I remembered what I heard long ago: “When you cannot see the hand of God, trust His heart.”  When you sense that your prayers are unheard, examine your heart and your requests, and then remember Psalm 42:11 “Why are you cast down, O my soul?  And why are you disquieted within me?  Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and My God.”  He never fails!

Pressing on…

Ron Tipton, Senior Pastor