I volunteer as an online missionary with Global Media Outreach (GMO). Every day people all over the world are searching for help and answers whether it be with finances, addiction, relationships, work, education, depression, abuse, safety, purpose, spirituality, or something else. GMO has set up websites related to these types of topics. If someone visits one of their websites as the result of a search he or she gets information on the topic, but is also presented with the truth of God’s love and salvation. If the person responds to the gospel or wants further information they are then connected with an online missionary who interacts with them via email to help them one-on-one. The other day I got connected with a man from Nigeria through GMO who asked, “Why doesn’t God answer prayer?” You may have asked the same question or wondered, “How come nothing happens when I pray?” I’m sure many people have asked this. Here are several truths about God from the Bible that will help answer this question.
1. God wants you to pray to him because he loves you.
Prayer should flow from faithful, kind, and gracious living. Your prayers should include praising God, confessing to him, seeking his will, understanding his character and promises, asking him to meet your needs and those of others, thanking him, listening to him, and yielding your will to his. Jesus gave his followers a model for prayer: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from the evil one'” (Matthew 6:9-13). The apostle, Paul, also encouraged believers to pray, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 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” (Philippians 4:4-7). The apostle, Peter, wrote, “Cast all your anxiety on him [God] because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
2. God hears and answers the prayers of those who trust and obey him.
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:15-18).
Because Jesus has made it possible to know God, if you trust in Jesus you can pray with assurance. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15). Jesus encouraged his followers, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). Jesus is not saying you always get what you ask for. He is exhorting you to wholeheartedly pray continually so you grow in dependence, trust, and alignment with God. As you actively participate in relating to God through prayer by verbally asking, mentally seeking, and physically knocking, God will give you what you need, which first and foremost, is himself through his Holy Spirit at work in you. Just as God promised the nation of Israel during their exile in Babylon, God will reward all who turn to him with the blessing of his presence. “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you” (Jeremiah 29:12-14).
3. Because he is all knowing and all powerful God discerns what is best for you, when it is best, and how to best bring it to fruition.
As creator of all including time and space, God holds the past, present, and future in his hand. Nothing is beyond the reach of his knowledge or his sovereignty (Genesis 1:1-31; Colossians 1:15-18; John 1:1-4). He uses his love, power, and wisdom to care for his creation including you and me. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). He knows you intimately, even the number of hairs on your head, and is working for you to become all he designed for you to be (Psalm 139; Matthew 6:25-34, 10:28-31; Romans 8:29-31). This process takes time, involves hardship, includes suffering, and requires you to place your hope, loyalty, trust, and obedience in him through Jesus. As you do, be assured that nothing can separate you from his love. Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).
4. When you don’t hear an answer from God it doesn’t mean he is ignoring you.
It means he is either saying no, or wait, or I have something different and better for you. “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts'” (Isaiah 55:8-9). “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:6).
If you want to be right with God and grow in knowing him, you can through Jesus. Jesus taught, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled…Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:6, 8). So keep praying and following Jesus convinced that he will answer you and guide your every step. I’ll do the same.