Have you ever prayed consistently for something, but the answers were hesitant, making you feel like prayer doesn't work?
Sometimes, we pray, and God has answered before we can plant our feet firmly on the floor again. But other times – no matter how hard we cry out or lament. No matter how desperate we are for the answers, it seems like God just is not listening.
Prayers that seem unanswered for some time can be hard to understand. Not to mention, they can make you feel like God is distant and uncaring.
Especially if you are new to the faith or the answers you seek are critical to your situation.
Pending prayers come with confusion that tests our faith as hard as any trial we could face.
It takes spiritual maturity and a lot of hard-learned lessons to realize why God does not always rush to answer those critical prayers – it is because he loves us very much and wants the best for our souls.
I realize the contradiction!
You are probably wondering – If God loves me so much, wants what is best for me, and knows the prayer is critical – why would he not answer swiftly?
You probably can not understand why the answers seem to elude you.
So, the questions may start to swarm – does God really care? Is he listening?
If you are not mindful – the enemy will have you questioning whether God is even there at all.
Thoughts like this are a breeding ground for the kingdom of darkness. Like any other moralless opponent, satan wants to kick you when you are down. So, trust that he will leap on any opportunity to get you to doubt the very existence of God.
Ultimately, his goal is to make you distrust God and his goodness so you give yourself up to a reprobate heart.
God has reasons for delaying his response to our prayers.
I understand how it can seem contradictory to say God loves you when you feel your prayer doesn’t work.
While you may not understand from a natural perspective, God has spiritual reasons for his delayed answers.
I say delay because no answer does not automatically mean the answer is no.
Delayed does not mean denied, and he will give you the answers in his time
We can not comprehend this with our finite minds. So, we can not lean on the limited logic we have to help us understand things spiritually.
For this reason, Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to trust in The Lord and not to lean on our understanding.
The enemy likes to make you believe that prayer doesn’t work and God is just chilling, hanging out, and watching from heaven as you suffer through his silence.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
The Bible tells us in Luke 22:31-34 that Jesus prays for us when satan comes to pick at our lives.
Could a God who prays for you really sit idly and watch you suffer?
There is nothing idle about prayer, so that thought is a contradiction in and of itself.
So, if he is praying, then he is working! The thing is, his time frame may look a little different from ours.
The time gap is where the frustration tends to creep in
We believe it is urgent, and God is like – Not yet.
There is always a valid reason for God making us wait for the answers to prayers, even if we do not know what they are.
A lot of the time, the wait is so we will grow spiritually. God is more concerned with our character than anything else. If holding off on the answers for a while will help develop your spiritual character, that is what he will do.
His silence does not mean God is not with you. Or that prayer doesn’t work. It simply means there is more character development he wants to do before he gives you the answers.
Sometimes, character development comes in the form of delayed answers.
God could be using the very thing you are praying about to progress you somehow.
While you are relentlessly praying for answers, he is using that thing to refine you.
God is outside of space and time.
So, what feels like an eternity to us is only a few short milliseconds to him.
We have to learn not to time God against earthly clocks. We can not time God at all! Everything happens according to his purposes and his timeframe.
Our entire lives were pre-planned by God before we got here. So, how can we dictate the right time for anything to happen? Including the response to a prayer.
Understanding this foundational truth is critical to having patience while in the waiting room with God.
There is an appointed time for everything under the sun – including the answers to your most pressing prayers.
Do not believe the lie satan tells you that your prayers are not working. Prayer always works! God may just be doing a little character development as he gets the answers to you.
The teaching testing wait period.
God is sometimes also silent when he wants to teach us to know his character. The way we learn his character is through reading his word.
Nothing can teach us who God is like good old-fashioned Bible study.
When God is silent, it could be that he is prompting you to look for answers in the word.
The word is living, active, and sharper than any two-edged sword.
The Holy Spirit will illuminate everything God wants to reveal to you as you commit to studying and understanding scripture.
You will be surprised at the level of answers God provides as you spend time with him in his word.
God might also be testing you in his silence.
Testing is how he evaluates what you have learned throughout your spiritual journey. God determines your preparedness for the next spiritual level via spiritual testing.
The testing might be his assessment of your response to his silence as you navigate the trials of life.
God wants to know that we trust him. And we will remain faithful to him, even if he does not give us the things we ask for.
You exhibit that faithfulness and showcase what you have learned spiritually through your response when you think God has gone silent.
The enemy will try to bait you into a faithless response. He will surely amp up his attacks as you are waiting on God. Satan does this because his goal is to defeat you in the waiting period so you never reach the full manifestation of what God has for you and who he has called you to be.
Every so often, we can not hear from God because the other voices around us are too loud.
The Holy Spirit sometimes speaks in a whisper.
You have to get closer to him to hear.
Get into the secret place with God and tune out all the outside noise.
Especially the lies of satan.
Waiting well when praying ain't working
The best way to fend off enemy attacks on your mind as you wait for God to answer is to – wait, well.
The alternative is waiting in frustration and impatience. Murmuring and complaining will not make the wait time any shorter. Neither will it make God give you answers any faster.
It will only make your heart more susceptible to bitterness.
Waiting well can be a difficult task.
Humans are hard-wired in our natural state to complain when things are not going our way.
Without thought, we murmur at the first sign of uncomfortableness. While it might come naturally, grumbling is never beneficial spiritually.
Waiting well requires trusting that God is a good Father and he has your best interest in mind.
Regardless of how the situation looks or how long you have been waiting for the answers – you have to believe that God heard you and he will deliver.
Trusting God when you do not have the answers is an act of faith!
It shows him your willingness to obey his voice, even when you can not hear it!
I will not lie and say that blind trust is easy!
It is probably the hardest thing you will do in your spiritual walk.
Not that you do not believe, but it is human nature to want to know at least the minor details!
But God is Spirit!
And those who worship him must do so in Spirit and truth!
Waiting well is renewing your mind to know that God has you, whether or not you have the details!
The battle for control over your thoughts is daily and constant. You have to keep reminding yourself that God is in control and he heard your prayer.
The enemy does not play fair
Try not to be sidetracked when satan throws doubting thoughts your way. The last thing he wants is you out here unwaveringly trusting God!
He will highlight it when God is silent by trying to cultivate a sense of urgency – telling you how God does not care or how long it has been.
Push through!
Remind him of the word, and agree with the truth of God and his character, not the lies of satan. Remember that the wait is for a reason – likely character-building.
Do not be afraid to talk to God.
Ask him what the wait is supposed to teach you.
He may answer right away, or he may not, for his purposes. Either way – trust that he heard you and he is working!
Think of it like the cartoons with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. You can listen to either of them, but which will yield fruitful results?
Listening to the devil will take you on a downward spiral of sour emotions, ultimately landing you in a sea of despair.
Listening to the angel will give you joy amid the circumstances.
The Joy of The Lord is Your Strength
You will need to do things to distract yourself from the wait. You could read the Bible or play worship music.
Do something to divert your attention away from whatever lies the enemy is spewing. Praise and worship are weapons in spiritual warfare such as this.
Praising God in the middle of confusion will give you joy you could not imagine! If you have Joy, then you have peace.
Peace is how you wait well. You have peace knowing that no matter how things look, God is with you, and your answers are en route.
Nehemiah 8:10 says that the joy of The Lord is our strength. Strength keeps you holding on as you wait for answers to pending prayers. Without that strength, you are defenseless against the mind attacks of the enemy. So praise on!
You will not always know why God is silent. There are many things we will not understand on this side of eternity. But you can rest knowing that God hears every prayer.
He knows what you need before you even need it, and when the time is right, The Lord will make it happen.
Until then, wait well!
Be Blessed, and Be A Blessing,
– Tamaya
