Do you ever feel like God is not answering your prayers? We have all been there. We ask questions like “Are my prayers all wrong?” or “Is there something that I am doing wrong?” “How long are we supposed to pray if God continues to ignore me?” Ignore you? Really? It might feel like that but I can assure you that God is not ignoring you. Why do we lay the blame for unanswered prayer at the feet of God? Why is it that we think that He is ignoring me? Could it be that I am asking for something that is outside of the will of God? Psalm 84:11 says this about our God: “…no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” Ok Jerry, whose walk is blameless? If that is the case then none of us have a chance. Another version of the Bible translates that verse as “…no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” None of us is without sin and that is often how we look at the word “blameless.” We are blameless because of the blood of Jesus. This is speaking of those whose faith is genuine. If our faith is genuine, that will lead to us to do the will of God and live in the center of His will. Being a Christian has its privileges.
So how do we look at this verse? Well, what is your definition of a good thing? Do you suppose that what you call a good thing and what God calls a good thing might be a little different? You might be praying for a husband, or children, or a new job, or maybe even to win the lottery so that you can give the church 25% of your winnings. All of those things sound like they would be a good thing, but God just might think differently and His opinion is the only one that counts. Just because something might make us happy doesn’t mean that it is good for us. So I guess we, as Christians, are just supposed to suck it up and if we are miserable, then we are miserable. NO! NO! NO! Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 7:11 “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” As much as we all want our children to be happy, you know that there are times when you must say “no” because it is not best for them. Parents know those kinds of things most of the time, but God knows what is best all of the time. God might very well be sparing you a greater heartache down the road by saying “no” now. I can testify to that many times over in my own life. There are things that I earnestly asked God to do or provide and I honestly believed that my motives were pure and good, and God said “no”. I look back now and am so grateful that God spared me the heartache that I now know I would have experienced.
Perhaps God is waiting for you to be obedient. Are you really walking uprightly? When no one else is looking, are you walking uprightly? Is your life not only obedient to Him but is it also surrendered to Him? Is it a life that is in step with the will and purposes of God?
Perhaps it is not the right time. Maybe God has not said “no” but might be saying “wait.” There is no one who has a better view of the road of your life than God. He knows what is ahead and around the corner. Think about that and rest assured that His timing is better than yours.
Perhaps it just might be that God has something better in mind for you. Think about this for a minute: God is good, He knows what is best for us, He loves you, He knows exactly what you need even when you do not, so would it not stand to reason that sometimes He says “no” or He closes a door because He has something better for us that we have not even thought about. Have you ever had one of those “Oh yeah, I never thought about that” moments? Have you ever said “I sure am glad that I did not do that” after looking at the current circumstances you find yourself in? You do understand that last week God saw your circumstances that you find yourself in today.
We need to learn to trust God in a whole new way. We need to know, understand, and remember His character. We need to remember that He always desires what is best for us and even when we move ahead without His blessing, He is gracious and merciful to us when we find ourselves in the mess. Avoid the mess. Talk to Him, submit to Him , and trust Him now, so that you can avoid the mess that you cannot see and is right around the corner. Learn how to pray trusting that our heavenly Father really does know best.