Jen’s Gem: Pray for God’s perfect will.

“I’ve been praying for (fill in the blank) forever! Why hasn’t God answered me?” Other than “Why am I here?”, I suspect this may be the second most asked question as we walk this earth. We wonder if God has turned a deaf ear to our pleas as we wait for His response. 

Coming off yet another sleepless night, I pondered the topic of today’s post. I asked God for guidance on what to write as I do each week. Crickets. No burning topic. No message came to mind. Is God sleeping? Is He busy with other more important requests? Is He mad at me?

The answer to these questions is a resounding “NO!” God does not sleep. He is never too busy for His kids.  God loves me. Yet, there are reasons why prayers seem to go unanswered. Let’s look at a few today:

1.    It’s not the right time. 
2.    It’s not what’s best for us.
3.    God is waiting for us to do something.

God’s timing is not our timing. We may want it to be otherwise, but His timing is perfect.  If we got everything we asked for the moment we asked for it, we’d become spoiled brats. Can you say entitled?

“Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14 NKJV)

Perhaps what we are asking for would hurt us or others in some way. God loves us too much to give us anything less than His best. 

“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”” (Luke 11:11-13 NKJV)

Now let’s look at the third reason why our prayers seem to go unanswered. God may be waiting on us to do something. What could this be? Here’s what I’ve learned:

•    We need to take steps towards the answered prayer. For example: If we are asking God for a new job, we need to actually apply for jobs, update our resumes, or contact a recruiter. Our dream job is not going to fall out of the sky while we eat bon bons on the couch. We need to take steps in faith toward our prayers. (Faith without works is dead. James 2:14).
•    We need to forgive our enemies. Yeah, I know. If you have hatred toward any of God’s other kids, your prayer is not going to be answered. God is love and Jesus’ one commandment – the most important one – is that we love one another as He loved us (John 13:34).  It’s hard. I know. But we want God to forgive us, right? So we must forgive others.
•    We need to stop undoing our prayers. Huh? Let’s say you are asking God to heal you from an illness, yet you’re saying things like “I’ll never get better” or “I’m always sick.” Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21) so speak life!

In no way am I saying that this is an exhaustive list of why some prayers go unanswered. God is God and I’m not. I don’t have all of the answers. However, it does behoove us to check our hearts to ensure we are doing our part in the natural so that God will do His part in the supernatural. 

Whether or not our prayers get answered does not change the fact that God loves us. As a mother, just because I don’t give my kids what they ask for does not change how I feel towards them. Same goes for God. He loves us unconditionally and only wants what is best for us. 

Let us always keep in mind that no matter what, God’s will is what we should seek. 

Moments before His death, Jesus prayed that His Father would “take this cup from Me.” However, He knew that God’s plan for the world’s salvation had to come to pass, and Jesus’ sole purpose was to fulfill this plan, which is why He then said, “not My will but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

God’s will is always what is best for you and me. Let’s remember this as we pray.