Waiting In Prayer

By Karrie Hahn

Many of us are probably waiting on the Lord right now with at least one unanswered prayer. This is not surprising, for both Scripture and church history testify that believers often persist in prayer as they wait for the Lord’s response to become clear. When the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah, he said that Zechariah’s prayer had been answered and that his wife, Elizabeth, would bear a son. We don’t know how many years this couple had persistently prayed for a child, but it must have been many, since they were both advanced in years (Luke 1:7). Similarly, Simeon and Anna had waited for years as they prayed for the appearing of the Messiah. In their old age, they finally beheld the infant Jesus in the temple (2:25–38). Augustine’s mother, Monica, prayed for her son for decades until he eventually came to faith in Christ. And George Müller, known for his ministry to orphans in nineteenth-century England, prayed for fifty-two years for the conversion of two of his friends. They both came to Christ a few years after Müller’s death.

We pray and wait for many things: healing from chronic disease or pain, the salvation of a loved one, the gift of marriage and children, adequate financial resources, a ministry opportunity, freedom from a besetting sin, the restoration of a broken relationship, or even the desire to depart this earth and be with the Lord. In the face of these desires, how are we to think and respond when we’ve offered up certain prayers for years and it’s unclear whether God’s answer is yes, no, or wait? This article will address some of the challenges and temptations we face, as well as some of the opportunities we receive, when it comes to unanswered prayers.

WHAT UNANSWERED PRAYER CAN REVEAL

It’s important to remember what Scripture says about why prayers sometimes go unanswered. Sometimes unanswered prayer is God’s invitation to us to consider our own lives. The Bible gives us at least five reasons that God might not be answering our prayers: wrong motives (James 4:3), withholding forgiveness or unreconciled relationships (Matt. 5:23–24), lack of faith in God’s ability to answer (James 1:6–8), husbands’ not living with their wives in an understanding way (1 Peter 3:7), and other sins that we stubbornly refuse to repent of (Ps. 66:18; Isa. 59:2; 1 Peter 3:12).

God doesn’t view us or our prayers as an inconvenience or an annoyance, but rather, He invites us to cast all our cares on Him.SHARE

The purpose of mentioning these five reasons is not to burden the sensitive consciences of believers who are always painfully aware of their sinfulness and how they are falling short. If God required perfection in us before He answered prayers for us, none of us would ever have our prayers answered. But it is helpful to consider how selfish motives, fleshly behavior, and not trusting God’s ability to answer can hinder our prayers. In these scenarios, unanswered prayer is a gracious gift of the Lord used to capture our attention and turn our gaze to the issues in our own lives that may need to be addressed.

HOW UNANSWERED PRAYER CAN FOSTER SPIRITUAL GROWTH

Unanswered prayer can also reveal ways that the Lord wants us to grow and change. This means that sometimes God wants to work in us before He works for us by answering our request. First, unanswered prayers can show us that we may need to modify our requests over time so that they better conform to God’s revealed will. Our growth in Christlikeness is a process, so it makes sense that there will be times when a specific request changes shape over the years as we increasingly come to seek God’s kingdom more and our own kingdom less. One helpful question as we consider our requests might be, “If this request were fulfilled, how would it bring glory to God, advance His kingdom, and bless others?”

Second, unanswered prayer can sometimes reveal that God is calling us not only to pray for an answer but to play a role in how He answers it. God typically uses human means to answer prayer. James says, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” (2:15–16). Certainly, in some times and circumstances, all we can do is pray. But when we offer prayers for others’ needs, it’s important to ask ourselves, “Is there a way that I can serve as part of the answer to this prayer?”

Third, when making requests for our own lives, we might also consider how God may want to unite faithful prayer with faithful action. For example, if we’re praying for a spouse, what opportunities are we seeking to meet a potential mate? If we’re praying for a job, what does our job search look like? This is a delicate balance, to be sure, but it’s helpful to be aware of our own tendencies either to pray and then expect God to do all the work or to attempt to do all the work ourselves and pray only as a last-ditch effort when we can’t achieve our desired outcome in our own strength.

PERSEVERING IN PRAYER

If we are unaware of any sins that might be hindering our prayers, and if we are sensitive to the ways that unanswered prayers can be used by God to mature us, how do we then persevere in prayer without giving up or losing heart?

One way is to avail ourselves of the prayer that our Lord Jesus taught us. Praying and meditating on the Lord’s Prayer in its entirety can fortify our faith and anchor us in truth as we wait for the Lord to answer specific requests. Each statement and petition of the Lord’s Prayer can remind us of what is true about God and about ourselves and can conquer the temptations and doubts that Satan throws our way when prayers go unanswered.