Elizabeth Prata
We pray for things near to our heart. We pray and pray and pray. Years go by. There is no answer. Does God listen? I’m feeling hurt, is that OK? Do I keep praying?
These are questions many women ask, think about, or feel. What do we do when God seemingly isn’t hearing our pleas?
Ladies, I am sorry if your prayer has not been settled in your mind and heart with an obvious answer as yet. It’s especially hard when our petitions to Jesus are aligned with what would please Him, such as salvation for another, or to strengthen a husband, or a stronger faith in one’s self; something along clear biblical lines.
The first thing we should do is, reassess your petition. Ensure it is something the Lord would bless and/or something that would bring Him glory. Is it near and dear to HIS heart? If it is, no worries:
And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. (1 John 5:14-15)
Then make sure of your motivations. Are you praying like the Pharisees did, to be seen by others? Are you making long prayers for a show?
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation. (Matthew 23:14).
Next, don’t worry about the time it seems to be taking for your prayer to be fulfilled. With the Lord, a thousand years as if a day, and a day as if a thousand years…so 2 years or 4 years or decades is long to us but mere “seconds” in time for the Lord…His timing is always perfect.
Anna was widowed at a young age, probably around 21, and decided to remain at the temple and praying and fasting night and day, at age 84 speaking to one and all who were also waiting for the redemption of Israel. “She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers” says Luke 2:36-38. We all can’t literally be Anna, devoting ourselves totally to praying, fasting and looking up for our redemption, but the concept is there:
PERSIST.
Marie Durand was a Huguenot who was imprisoned in 1738 for 38 years in the Tower of Constance for her faith. The powers-that-be wanted her to recant Christianity and turn Roman Catholic. Every single day for 38 years they came to her cell and asked her to recant. Every single day for 38 years, she didn’t. She even scratched RESISTEZ on the wall of her cell with a knitting needle.
We hear much from sermons, memes, quotes and of course the Bible about persevering. “The Perseverance of the Saints” is a phrase we are familiar with. Prayer IS perseverance. If you are still praying, you are still persevering. Keep praying!
In the Parable on Prayer in Luke 18, the “Persistent Widow” was lauded. She kept after the Judge asking for justice. Jesus said in His conclusion to that parable,
“Now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find that faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:7-8).
Meaning, don’t give up. Don’t stop praying in despair or discouragement that God isn’t listening, or somehow doesn’t care about your issue. Have faith.
Look up the verses that discuss prayer. You can go to Bible Gateway and search for “prayer” and Old Testament and New Testament verses will come up, all organized into the books of the Bible that mention it. Then read up from the verse and down from the verse to get the context, and then believe.
God delights in the prayers of the upright- Proverbs 15:8. So as long as you are praying you are persevering. You are also pleasing Him!
Pursue God relentlessly. Prayer is part of that pursuit.
Prayer is a mechanism thru which He promised to reward us. Matthew 6:6->
But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Our Intercessor brings those prayers to the Father. No matter if it is yes, no, or wait, our prayers keep us submitted to Him (the very act of praying signals that we know we need Him), delights Him, He acts as intercessor on our behalf…
The answer might be YES in 10 years or tomorrow. it might be NO in ten years or tomorrow. We just don’t know. But everything He does is good and is for our good, says Romans 8:28. So even this time of praying and waiting IS for our good. He heard the cry of Hagar in the wilderness and He hears your cry, too. And he has compassion for it.
Here are some good resources:
Ligonier devotional: Consistent, persevering prayer
Ephesians 6:18
praying at all times with all prayer and petition in the Spirit, and to this end, being on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
Republished with permission from Blogs.crossmap.com, featuring inspiring Bible verses about Why doesn’t God answer my prayer? Should I quit praying it?.
