Does prayer go unanswered? Day 4...

When we started the discussion about prayer going unanswered I said that the simple answer to the question was, “Yes” prayer goes unanswered.

In fact it goes unanswered every day.  So the question isn’t does it go unanswered.

The question is, “Who doesn’t answer prayer?”

The answer is you, … and me.

Prayer is a conversation.  And often, when we ask God for something, He requires something on our part.

When the blind man wanted to see, Jesus put mud on his eyes and told him to go wash.

When Peter wanted to walk on the water, Jesus told him, “Come.”

When Peter told Jesus of the situation with the taxes the Lord told him to “go thou to the sea.”

So many times we fail to realize that the answer to prayer… to the conversation…

The thing that gets “said” next…

Is meant to be from us.

And so, we don’t receive it because we don’t respond.  In reality we are saying to God, “more than I want what I asked for, I don’t want to do what You asked for.”

We end the conversation.  We change the subject.  We fail to answer.

This is not salvation we are talking about.  Our works… our answers… don’t get us grace, and they don’t get us into heaven.

Our answers, our obedience, moves us into that place of communion with God NOW.  By listening  (acting on what we have heard) to God we release the abundant life He died to give us NOW. 

To live an abundant life… a life filled with all He has for us… we need to respond to Him.  Prayers that are for today require action today.

So don’t blame God when you ask for something that you don’t get… ask yourself, “What don’t I want to do to get what God is holding for me?”

Prayer goes unanswered… not by God… but by man.

SDG