Why Hasn't God Answered My Prayer?

We can't and we don't always get EXACTLY what we want. And unfortunately, this can sometimes make us question whether or not God is hearing our prayers. As Christians, we can be confident that the Lord is hearing all our prayers. - We're reminded of this several times throughout the bible. One example of this is seen in the 34th Psalm where we see verses like, "I sought the Lord and He heard me..." and, "The poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles."

But we have to understand that just because the Lord hears our prayers, doesn't mean they're always going to be answered the way we want them to be and as fast as we want them to be. Our prayers must have the bottom line of "let THY will be done." - It has to be about God's will and not our own. We cannot and should not impose our will on God.

We should always be examining our timing and we should know that God will sometimes delay. He does this to challenge our faith and allow us to modify our requests as well as to help us develop patience and endurance and trust in Him. We always need to be mindful that it's not about us - it's about God. He is not our servant - we are His and we should be patient when it comes to our prayer requests to Him.

Just Give Up.

One of the areas we usually study before we take on the waters of baptism are the requirements for being a disciple of Jesus Christ. One of those requirements is "giving up." And no, not give up like "throw in the towel..." - As a Christian, we need to be prepared to give up EVERYTHING in this earthly life for God. A lot of really GOOD people have a difficult time with this concept... Think about the example of the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-23. Here's a man who had fit many of the requirements that Jesus was mentioning to him - except for one. When Jesus tells Him that in order to be a follower he must go sell everything he owns, he becomes very sad because he knew he had so much... We have to understand that we cannot hold on to ANYTHING this world has to offer us.

We cannot be putting anything in front of God. - Not our possessions, or our families. or ourselves... Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:24-25 "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever his life for me will find it..."

Sometimes we just need to be reminded of why we're here. - What our purpose is.. We're to live for Jesus. We're to bring more souls to Him. It's not about money. It's not about possessions. It's not about fame... It's about getting to Heaven and bringing as many souls as possible with us.

So as you evaluate your own life - have you "given up" yet? Or are there still things you're holding on to?

Reflect Upon God's Goodness

How often do we stop and reflect on how amazing God is? Unfortunately, I think we sometimes fail to recognize God's greatness until something good happens in our life. It shouldn't take an ACT of greatness for us to realize how amazing our Lord is. Let me suggest that we think more often about the goodness of God. Whether you stop and think about the earth He created, the fact that He knows everybody in the world He created, the amazing structure of our bodies and how they work, the fact that He could love someone who sins against Him over and over, the fact that He sent His son to die for those sins we commit, or whatever it may be - we need to think about those things more often.

What happens when we think about God's goodness on a regular basis is this; we lose the desire to commit sinful acts. When we have a true and grateful confidence that God is good, it will win the war against the wickedness that tempts us.

As you start and conclude your day today, let your first and last thoughts be a reflection on God's goodness. It's a perfect way to begin and end your day.

"The LORD is good, He is a stronghold in the day of trouble. And He knows those who trust Him." - Nahum 1:7