Unanswered Prayers???

An old song played on our local radio station earlier this week that really got me thinking. The song is Unanswered Prayers by country music legend Garth Brooks. In particular, I have been reflecting on the chorus. In it, Brooks sings:

Sometimes, I thank God, for unanswered prayers
Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs
That just because He may not answer, doesn’t mean He don’t care
Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.

While I do enjoy the song and appreciate the sentiment Mr. Brooks is attempting to communicate, I don’t love the theology. It isn’t so much that God leaves our prayers unanswered as He provides answers that fail to meet our expectations or that we fail to understand.

It isn’t so much that God leaves our prayers unanswered as He provides answers that fail to meet our expectations or that we fail to understand.

Over and over again the Scriptures tell us that God hears and responds to the prayers of His children. Consider these examples for a moment…

Psalm 91:15 – “He will call on me, and I will answer Him…”

Mark 11:24 – “I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.”

Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

James 5:16b – “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

I think our critical mistake in our prayers is believing that it is a one way conversation. We like to think that we tell God what we want and He then acquiesces to our demands or grants our wishes. As the old saying goes, we believe that “prayer moves the hand of God.” While the Scriptures and our own experiences do, at times, validate the accuracy of this statement, it is not always the case. Sometimes, in His grace, God gives us exactly what we ask for in the way we want it. At other times, however, He provides us with alternate answers. Sometimes, He may even be telling us NO.

Perhaps we would do well to stop seeing prayer as a means to move God in the direction we would have Him to go and instead we should see prayer as an invitation for God to move us in keeping with His will.  This seems to be what John is getting at in 1 John 5:14. He writes, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

The Bible is clear; God hears our prayers.

We all face seasons of uncertainty in our prayer lives. We begin to wonder what in the world God is doing, or if He is doing anything at all. I’ve been in such a season in my own prayer life. I have prayed diligently for the healing of people I care about. I have begged God to restore relationships. I have asked God, over and over again, to provide the peace that transcends understanding to those in times of trouble. In each case, it has appeared that my prayers have gone unanswered. But, upon closer inspection, I have realized that God did answer, often beyond what I could have asked or imagined. I just failed to understand because His answer didn’t align with my will.

The Bible is clear; God hears our prayers. God cares about that which concerns us. God is working to bring about His will in and through our lives for our good and His glory. So, whatever this season of life brings, keep praying; keep trusting. God is working. He will answer. Maybe not in the way we expect or in the way that we want, but certainly in the way that we need, even if we can’t see it right now.