Responding To Answered Prayer

There are two ways to respond to unanswered prayer. We will address both ways in this discussion.

The first way to respond to unanswered prayer is by examining if you have effectively applied many of the basic principles of prayer to your prayer life. For example, is there any of the following present:

·      Unforgiveness in our lives

·      Sin in Your Life

·      Not Praying According to God’s Will

·      Lack of Faith

·      Praying with Wrong Motives

·      Failure to spend time in the Word of God

If the answer is yes to any of the above questions then you need to deal with the situation immediately in order to get answers to your prayers. If you can honestly say that none of the above factors are in existence in your prayer life then we need to look at other factors.

There are several things we need to consider when responding to unanswered prayer including the following:

When we don’t see answers to our prayers we need to trust God anyway.

• 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)

We may not know why the prayers remain unanswered, but we need to trust Him not lean to our own understanding and realize that God is sovereign and knows best. His ways are higher than our ways.

• 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV

We need to understand that God always answers prayer, but our understanding of an answer may be hindered by our own desires not Gods.

• God can answer yes, no or not now. These are all answers we may not like and therefore say God has not answered my prayer.

We also have to realize that God can use all things for good.

• Romans 8:28 is a good example of this. "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 ESV

In addition, seemingly unanswered prayer should not change our response to God. It could be that God is leaving our prayers seemingly unanswered to draw us closer to himself. God uses different and varied methods to draw us closer to himself and to increase our faith in him.