Unanswered Prayer September 8, 2022
Thursday, September 8th
Take5 Devotional today written by Rik Bright, Director of Facility Operations
Unanswered Prayer
James 4:2 – You do not have because you do not ask.
James 4:3 – When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 1:6-8 – But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
Mark 11:25-26 – And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
Psalm 66:18 – If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
The Christian’s prayer life is not always one answered prayer after another. It’s been said that the Lord is not a vending machine into which we insert our requests and out pops the reply, just as we asked. The believer can be encouraged and grateful that through Scripture, we have been given specific reasons that prayers can go unanswered. The Lord is ever gracious and forgiving.
Knowing that there are a few Biblical references that allow us to check ourselves and see if our prayers are consistent with God’s Word, is a tremendous blessing. Remember that He delights to be with us, is eager to hear our prayers, and is always at work in us. But His responses might not be what we desire or expect. Knowing there are reasons we cannot understand and yet still trusting that God knows best, will enhance our prayer life, and help us walk with Him.
May we be willing to ask ourselves if WE are standing in the way of an answer to prayer.