This is for readers wanting only a brief overview. I will not again pass by them anymore. Beware! . . David was so close to God that the Lord said he was “a man after his own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). . When Christians suffer, it is because, rather than taking it easy in heaven, they have been divinely assigned to this spiritual war zone we call earth. . Ezekiel 33:11  . . Great faith means slogging on regardless; stubbornly holding on to the conviction that nothing – not “oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword . Had such prayers been answered, we would have a thinner and/or different Bible. Numbers 14:11-20 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? Appears in the text, For more information, see Bible Version Dilemmas. In the Four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—there … Slowly, they begin seeing wisdom in perplexing parental decisions, and their frustration or even hostility, slowly turns to gratitude and even an exquisite feeling of security. Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind would not be toward this people . If I cause evil animals to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it is made desolate, so that no man may pass through because of the animals; though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters . 1. This, too, was denied and they received a lecture on “Whoever of you wants to become first among you, shall be bondservant of all” (Mark 10:44). Matthew 10:21-25 Brother will deliver up brother to death . They conceived a son, years after children seemed like an impossibility, and gave birth to the prophesied one who would prepare the people for the arrival of the Messiah. . Lord, take, I beg you, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3, 8-9). . . In this webpage, however, we will proceed both with uncovering many biblical examples of unanswered prayer and with discovering that these incidents are far more positive than most of us would have guessed. Matthew 8:21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”. In such a self-serving, pleasure-seeking world, to willingly – even eagerly – share someone’s suffering is an alien concept. Getting prayer requests completely wrong is so common that Romans 8:26 (NIV) says, “We do not know what we ought to pray for . you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. Appears in the text He doesn’t retain his anger forever, because he delights in loving kindness. . The entire cosmos needs a God who alone is worthy to receive glory and honor and power, (Revelation 4:11) and has not signed away his right to rule. One of the reasons why prayer is so misunderstood is because we have taken certain verses in the Bible and we use them in a completely unintended way. . A cruel or robotic god might give us whatever we pray for, but a wise, loving Father would protect us from the consequences of our finite intelligence and will sometimes risk our wrath by wisely declining our requests. To demonstrate how unpredictable (from a human perspective) the results can be, however, it would be remiss not to give at least a brief reminder of all highly encouraging times that prayer has seemingly changed God’s mind. . God's "no" isn't punishment, it's preparation. Instead of responding positively, Jesus rebuked them (Luke 9:54-55). He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” . We've all had experiences when our prayers seemed unanswered. . Having prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and failed all those times, it was clear to Elijah what was wrong: he hadn’t prayed enough. I would love to explore this with you but to adequately do so would be straying too far from the topic in hand. ? . . No matter how definitive, however, several of these biblical proofs could seem too trivial or not sufficiently bewildering to galvanize the attention of those reeling under particularly bitter consequences of prayers not being answered. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left. His faith at that moment must have been so astonishingly high as to soar all the way to heaven. . Romans 11:33-5 Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! cried out . . Many of those who practiced magical arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. . But if I live on in the flesh, this will bring fruit from my work; yet I don’t know what I will choose. The webpage then proceeds to examine from a biblical perspective the personal implications for our own unanswered prayers. This is hardly surprising, since both feature the same God who changes not (Malachi 3:6; Psalm 102:27), and the New Testament keeps citing the Old with divine authority. Immediately after those words, Scripture records Peter making a request of Jesus; pleading/insisting that Jesus not go the way of the cross. . Proverbs 24:16 for a righteous man falls seven times, and rises up again . Again his servant climbed up and searched the sky. Scripture does not specify whether God intervened before David had time to formulate his longing into a prayer but regardless of the specifics it was certainly close to a prayer. You can’t serve both God and Mammon. . Elijah prayed yet again, this time, most likely, praying even harder and longer. cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They each had such sway with God that their intercession halted God’s judgment on the entire nation (Deuteronomy 9:13-14,18-19; 2 Samuel 24:25). Proof that unanswered prayer is not just the result of spiritual immaturity surfaced later. be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself.” (Message Bible) and “I want to . . Although “it was in the heart of David” (2 Chronicles 6:7) to build the temple, the Lord said that this must be done by his son (1 Chronicles 17:1-4; 1 Chronicles 28:2-3). They aren’t necessarily a good part. God hasn't forgotten or abandoned you. He may turn and relent, . 1 Timothy 2:3-4  . Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord . As children grow, however, they commence the long and unsettling discovery that life is far more complex than they had dared dream. “I have heard your prayer. Both instances were marred by sin but despite their repentance and God’s forgiveness (from an eternal perspective) God refused to give them what they asked for. There, God’s will is done perfectly and exclusively because the divine Judge has reluctantly banished to eternal judgment everyone breaking his heart and hurting each other by acting contrary to his perfect ways. . 2 Samuel 12:16-18 David therefore begged God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the ground. Both instances were marred by sin but despite their repentance and God’s forgiveness (from an eternal perspective) God refused to give them what they asked for. They had the intelligence to realize that human inability to perceive every eventuality means that even what to us seems essential or undeniably good, could astonish us by turning out disastrously and prove to be the very thing we should never have asked for. and leave a blessing behind him . There will always be times when prayer takes us on an adventure, not to a foregone conclusion; times when the most faith-filled of us can only pray in hope, rather than in certainty as to what God will do. If I cause evil animals to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it is made desolate, so that no man may pass through because of the animals; though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters . . . We are beginning to see that the Bible regards it as a privilege for the righteous to suffer. Consider these examples of prayer moving God to reverse his pronouncement: Isaiah 38:1-5 In those days was Hezekiah sick and near death. Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make myself known to him in a vision. David pleaded desperately for the life of his baby. . And what about the imprisonments that kept Paul from preaching to the lost and from strengthening Christians in their fragile spiritual infancy? ? Rather than answering prayers that let us settle for mediocrity or worse, our gracious Lord honors us by expecting us to break free from cowardice and rise to the heights he knows a life yielded to him is capable of. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no more of promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by promise. Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind would not be toward this people . The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least. Unanswered prayers are a big part of Christianity. The elders of his house arose beside him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, and he didn’t eat bread with them. All of this begs the question, however, Why doesn’t God keep Christians who are needed on earth in some sort of protective bubble? Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses. . Similarly, for complex reasons that are often beyond us, it is sometimes impossible for God to answer our prayers and it be the best (righteous, most loving, most effective) course of action. We desperately need a God whose goodness cannot be corrupted by Bible-thumping bigots; cannot be manipulated by conniving self-seekers; cannot be defiled by human greed, and whose wisdom will not be thwarted by pray-ers with idiotic delusions of grandeur. A shallow or selective reading of Scripture might lead some to imagine that the Bible teaches that our Lord always gives passionate, faith-filled Christians whatever they pray for. Therefore have I poured out my indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I brought on their heads, says the Lord God. Moses longed to enter the Promised Land. But Elizabeth and her husband carried on faithfully in the service of the Lord and saw His blessing in their old age. Speak no more to me of this matter. When a Samaritan village discovered that Jesus and his disciples were heading for Jerusalem, the villagers refused to accommodate them. . Sometimes God answers “not yet” to a believer’s specific prayer. . . when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next . Despite very many times reading the entire Bible from cover to cover, I have not done so specifically for this purpose. all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. It was such a godly idea (1 Kings 8:17) that even the prophet Nathan gave his initial approval (2 Samuel 7:2-3). ‘in Christ’s stead’ is a divine gift offered to them in love.”, H. A. . Thus he showed me and behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. . Any Bible truth, no matter how glorious, can end up causing more harm than we dare imagine when divorced from the checks and balances of the rest of the Bible’s teaching. If anyone inspires us to believe in the power of prayer, it is the one whose own prayers did not save him from the cross; the one who said: Matthew 6:34  . Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who have kept his ordinances. Other renderings include “I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could . To draw upon what I have written elsewhere about the implications: Persecution is one thing, but natural disasters are in a different league. The next section below delves into the Bible; uncovering numerous incidents of Bible saints reeling because of prayers that were never answered. We must recognize the process, lest in our confusion we defame our Lord by supposing he instigated things that were utterly contrary to the perfection of his love and goodness. Joel 2:13-14 Tear your heart, and not your garments, Not even an all-powerful God can do the logically absurd, such as make a square circle. Nevertheless, there remain certain prayer requests where, no matter how righteous and high in faith one is, we find ourselves in a position like David: we can only give prayer our best shot and humbly leave the result in God’s capable hands, knowing that only he is truly good, infinitely wise, and flawlessly selfless in his devotion to humanity. . Superficially, never-answered prayer seems such a negative subject that even among studious Bible readers, very few have stopped to realize how many incidents of unanswered prayer are secreted in God’s Word. They had a small black dog who would go to the back door and bark and bark until someone finally got the message and let it out. Both times, the Lord preempted him by saying he will not grant such a request (for the relevant Scriptures, see Told No Before he Asked). and turn to the Lord, your God; “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” I know this is a difficult promise for us. ], Jonah 3:4-5, 10 Jonah . . instead of an evil. .”. If even those so close to Jesus could ask of him such dangerously foolish things, we should all heave a sigh of relief and praise God that Christians’ prayers can go unanswered. Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses. Among even the twelve apostles, Peter, James and John had a uniquely close relationship with Jesus (Mark 5:37; 9:2 13:3; 14:33; Galatians 2:9). This fascinating Bible tour would be convincing and highly informative, even if some of the declined requests turned out to be more foolish or ungodly than the person realized, or the matter was less than deadly serious, or one might argue that the situation was somewhat tainted by sin (despite, by then, the person being genuinely repentant). . that no man is justified by the law before God is evident, for, “The righteous will live by faith.” . The point, however, is that no one should be shocked that when James was searching for an example of the power of prayer (James 5:16-18), and Hebrews 11 wanted to stress the power of faith, both cited the Old Testament. . . . I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”. (Emphasis mine – Jeremiah 11:14 and 14:11-12 are similar.). He prayed again, pouring out his heart to God. He publically praised her, and hailed her as a role model. . People repeatedly asked Jesus for a sign and received only a rebuke (Matthew 12:38-39; 16:1,4; John 6:30). But the Bible repeatedly gives examples of communal prayer and encourages people to pray with—and for—one another (Matt. On earth, however, we grow only in the limited sense of learning to trust God’s love and wisdom, and gaining a little insight into a mere fraction of the agonizing complexities our Lord faces in dealing with a world that refuses to do things his loving, wise way. . Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life. In effect, the Lord was saying, “Amos, asking me to relent worked twice, but there’s no point in asking anymore.”. . The Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” The elders of his house arose beside him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, and he didn’t eat bread with them. In praying for the baby, however, I honor him for three things: 1. They include only actual worded prayers, not references to prayer. To loosely paraphrase a passage of Scripture: Foster the resolve of Jesus, who for God’s sake willingly relinquished his right to heaven’s ease and pleasures to suffer horrifically with and for humanity to do all he could to rescue them from the eternal consequences of their sin. I have seen your tears. Paul on the one hand, wishes to be such a person (Col 1:24-25)—to suffer in Christ’s stead that others may be consoled (2 Cor 1:4-6), to die that others might live (2 Cor 4:12), to endure hardships that others might be saved (1 Cor 4:13 . Appears in the text Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left. On the contrary, the above quote ends, “Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.” This was the response of a true man of God; a faith giant who could say, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ,” (1 Corinthians 11:1, NIV). Fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. . I explain from Scripture why having our top prayer requests never answered does not mean we have somehow failed. Perhaps hoping to further pressure Jesus, their mother even added her voice to the request (Matthew 20:20-21). Luke 14:26-27 If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple. . Who knows whether the Lord will not be gracious to me, that the child may live? . I find God's silence difficult or … Peculiarly, that’s relevant and yet changes nothing. Elizabeth had spent years carrying the shame of infertility. . (Slightly Modified) .) An object that is a square is not a circle. Unanswered Prayer: New Testament Revelation. Intercession is never about fighting a God who is reluctant to bless, but about the Lord giving us priceless opportunities to grow in becoming more like him. Surely this describes our era. Unanswered Prayers (From a sermon of Bro. Who knows? Regretfully, the result will shock the many of us who are unaware that their ‘faith’ has, in part, been founded on misinterpretation of God’s precious Word. The Joy of Unanswered Prayer Biblical Examples of Unanswered Prayers. he will deal wrongfully, and will not see the Lord’s majesty” (Isaiah 26:9-10). His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away; for she cries after us.” Christ’s suffering was God’s will, solely because we sinners desperately needed him to endure it. Thus the Lord showed me and behold, the Lord God called for judgment by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land. Though not always associated with unanswered prayer, the principle of unavoidable judgment achieving good extends beyond Old Testament incidents. “One of the illusions of life,” said Emerson, “is that the present hour is not the critical, decisive hour.” There are times when unanswered prayer rams home this truth like nothing else can. David’s prayer for the life of his and Bathsheba’s child (2 Samuel 12:15-23) is a case in point. . Then The Lord’s word came to Isaiah, saying, “Go, and tell Hezekiah, ‘The Lord says . 18:19-20; James 5:14-16). Seek righteousness. . . I have seen your tears. Micah 7:18-19 Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity . Whatever the implications of being “overcome” by this ungodly power, it is sure to be physical, not spiritual, but sufficiently unpleasant for those suffering it to want it to stop. Whilst, of course, there is nothing erratic about him, if he never responds to your prayers in a way you find unfathomable, I question the breadth of your experience. Even after Jesus’ resurrection, the apostles asked for something as seemingly harmless as revelation and they were denied: Acts 1:6-7 “Lord, are you now restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It isn’t for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within his own authority. “In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!” Nevertheless, “the secret things belong to the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us,” This obligates each of us to obey God’s directive to keep reading, studying and pondering the Word of God, praying “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of your law,” and, to paraphrase two Scriptures, grow in the knowledge of our Lord; repeating the Apostle Paul’s prayer that God grant us “a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.” (Scriptures for this paragraph). Perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin.” . B. Lightfoot says the portion of the Scripture we are examining means, “God has granted you the high privilege of suffering for Christ; this is the surest sign, that He looks upon you with favour (sic).”, Gerald F. Hawthorne, in his highly regarded work comments, “To use the apostle’s own words, in that the Philippians, as he himself, are suffering, they actually are filling up ‘what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s sufferings’ (Col 1:24-25). It seems some preachers and scholars even find it an embarrassment. Suddenly, unpredictably the same God gave the opposite response. It’s a common New Testament theme, however. . Not to be sold. . .to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give, but for whom it has been prepared.” (Mark 10:38,40). . “I want to suffer with him,” says the New Living Translation (Contemporary English Version is almost identical). Does anyone seriously think that this bloodied saint never prayed for protection? . (1 Kings 18:22-38). If this man were not satisfied with a wife who stayed only because she was forced, why would he be satisfied with a wife who stayed only because she was conned or drugged or hypnotized, or whatever? I said, “A plumb line.” . The elders of his house arose beside him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, and he didn’t eat bread with them. On the contrary, my goal is to build you up by ensuring your faith is solidly Bible-based. . . And if prayer means we can get anything we earnestly desire that is not sin, why didn’t Paul and other martyrs successfully pray for God to change his plan? We have, of course, been finding more and more biblical examples where God was resolute in declining a request – and even requests that earned a divine rebuke. As a matter of fact, most non-Christians probably have unanswered prayers … . Having this confidence, I know that I will remain, yes, and remain with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, Philippians 1:21-25 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. He, and his brother James, asked Jesus for a special place of privilege and power in the age to come. Now I will go up to the Lord. .

If you’re going to say a prayer, it’s probably because you want something to change. God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he didn’t do it. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?”, Numbers 12:6-8  . A little thought reveals what makes this so significant to our topic. . . Nevertheless, it provides even more reason for rejoicing in God not answering every request. I feel too deeply for the many of us for whom unanswered prayer costs horrifically; bringing us to the brink of despair and fueling deep resentment. . 15 Scriptures For Get Well Soon Cards, 15 Scriptures To Help With Hopelessness Jesus tells us that sometimes we won’t understand. Their request was denied. On the other extreme, evil is so obvious early on, that one can mistakenly suppose the good Lord is nowhere to be found. “If you treat me this way, please kill me right now . A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord. . 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