Unanswered Prayer

May 2, 2010
Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst . . .

Class members shared some of their hopes, not all of which seemed to be happening for them. We looked at some other Bible verses that suggested we could have whatever we want.

• John 14:13-14 says "I will do whatever you ask in my name."
• Mark 11:23-24 says "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have it, and it will be yours."
• Psalm 37:4 says God "will give you the desires of your heart."

So why don't we get what we really, really want?

Each of the promise verses we looked at had a condition attached, or an alternate explanation. Jesus was not promising us "magic wand prayers," where we just need the right incantation to make things happen. He was describing a relationship. "Join my Father and me in this new life, and you will discover power you never dreamed of." "One side benefit of following me is that you will sometimes be given assurance of what you can accomplish." "As you become part of the new kingdom, God will change your deepest desires to reflect the world as it should be."

Prayer is not supposed to be a shopping list that we drop off at God's door each day, expecting Him to do what we think best. Instead, it is a conversation between friends (or family members), where we are free to express our desires and He is free to suggest alternatives.

We all agree that some prayers should not be answered the way we originally wanted. We don't see the big picture. We don't have enough information. Our motives aren't as pure as we sometimes think.

And of course, Jesus, who told us we could have whatever we ask for (at least conditionally), didn't pray that way in Gethsemane. The night He was going to be betrayed, He asked to be released from the plan. But He didn't "ask without doubting." Instead He prayed "But whatever you decide, I'll go along with."

We all seemed comfortable with understanding prayer as communication, not magic. Naturally God won't release His power to us just because we really want that job, that award, that relationship. The world would indeed be horrible if misguided people could not only punch each others' noses but also wield supernatural power against each other. Of course each of our requests needs to have God's approval before being implemented.

So why does the Bible seem to offer outlandish answers to prayer?

Perhaps we need the reminder that nothing is impossible for God. Paul wrote to the Ephesians that God could do "immeasurably more than we ask or imagine." Our expectations need to be high. It is too easy for us to settle for the easy, for what we can do on our own. We need to be reminded that God has more for us, and He invites us to dream big. And that means even bigger than ourselves.

Sometimes our big dreams are not quite what He deems best. His primary goal is not our individual happiness. He has established a new kingdom, and He wants us to be part of it. We are part of His plan to reconcile the world to Himself. Our happiness is a byproduct of the new world He is creating. He has huge plans for us, far beyond our immediate happiness. We need to be open to the possibilities He sees for us.

So we are encouraged to bring our outlandish requests to God, understanding that He may redirect us. And we can trust that He really does know what's best.