Pulpit Reflections: Accepting unanswered prayers and His will

Have you ever been deeply disappointed? Has there ever been something you wanted so badly that the situation dominated your every thought? Have you experienced praying and praying and praying for an answer only to sit in silence and seemingly receive nothing? Such is the life of a believer. 

The Book of Job deals with the concept of suffering and unanswered prayer. 

Nowhere in the Bible is the story of suffering more highly noted than in the book of Job. The story is unique in that we as the readers know the reason for Job’s suffering but he did not. Satan and God had a conversation Job was not privy to. Satan wanted to prove Job was righteous so Job could win favor and be successful. God knew otherwise. Job was leading a faithful and righteous life to praise and honor God, not to gain God’s favor. 

Satan took all of Job’s riches and worldly wealth and left him with his wife and his life. But Job held fast to his integrity, determined to unravel the mystery of why he, a man who had done his utmost to live an upright life, was being treated by God as the chief of sinners. 

If he was a sinner deserving of divine punishment. He demanded his friends tell him what he had done—which they could not. He also asked the same of God—and received more silence in response. In the end of this 42-chapter story, Job never did get an answer as to why he suffered. What he got was a deeper understanding of who God is. 

If you read the entire book of Job, you will find themes that every human being has to contend with, especially in times of suffering. 

The first is the character of God. God is constant and sovereign. God is good. All the time. We are to simply to trust in God. God has the eternal picture. We only see what is before us in this moment. A sovereign God has the final say. 

Satan will tempt us, but Satan can only go so far. So we as believers are to keep the faith, to call on God’s wisdom, power and authority and to keep reaching for God instead of running away from Him. 

Those who turn fully to God in their great sorrow—even if they argue, plead and protest in His presence as Job did—will find a pathway nearer to the tender mercies of heaven than they have ever walked before. 

The apostle Paul asked God for answers in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. Paul had “a painful physical ailment” which has become known as a thorn in his side. He made it clear that whatever the “thorn” was, it had not been placed in him by God.

 It had originated as “a messenger of Satan to torment me” (v. 7). It was neither a divinely imposed punishment for some failing nor a burden placed upon him by God to teach him some lesson. That may explain why Paul had so diligently asked God to remove it from him. Three times Paul prayed and asked God to remove it but the answer was always no. Instead Paul discerns that God’s answer was this; “My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.” Vrs 9.

This seems to flip our ‘pull yourself up by the boot straps’ mentality on its head. We tend to try to solve our problems with brain power or hard work. We think we need to stay strong and to push through difficult situations but God says “No!” Just surrender yourself to my power and let me shine through. When you are weak then I am strong. When you have exhausted all your mental and physical resources, then I will go to work and produce something that is amazing. I will orchestrate all the powers of the universe to come together at just the right moment to give you the answers you need. The perfect storm of events will unfold in synchronistic timing. All of this comes about in my timing with my power when you surrender your power to my will. 

Jesus set the ultimate example of praying and surrendering to God’s will with his prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. Matthew 26:37-40 records his prayer. “He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. Grief and anguish came over him and he said to them, “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch with me. He went a little further on, threw himself face downward on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want.” That’s complete surrender! Not my will but thy will be done.  

So when your prayers seem to be returning only silence responses from God, it may be time to change your asking. I pray for my will and I freely ask God to work in and through me. I pray for others and I pray specifically for healing and answers and truth and wisdom. I pray for safety for myself and for those I love. I pray for journey mercies for those who travel. I pray for perseverance. 

I even pray and ask God to do miracles but ultimately, I realize that God is God. He loves me and wants what is best for me and for those who call on his name. Sometimes the answer to my prayers is “No”! And in those moments I pray for something to change in me so I can accept his will. 

I reach for higher ground. I pray for healing and God gives me something bigger, compassion. I pray for release from my sorrow and God gives me eternal life. 

I want the faith of Job. I want the knowing that no matter what comes my way I will make it when I rely on God’s strength and not my own. It is my hope that we all would strive to be that faithful.