Why Doesn't God Answer My Prayers? Online Pastor and Radio Chaplain Answers this Question

Dear Pastor Roland, Why doesn't God answer my prayers? Caitlin

Dear Caitlin, Thank you for your question. I am frequently asked this question and of course, since I don't know your particular circumstances, I can only give a generic answer.

First of all, we must not be too sure that He is not answering your prayers.

Here is a story to illustrate my point. A student may complain to the teacher about the amount of work, and the teacher responds with more work. It appears to the student at that time that the teacher is mean or doesn't care, but in the long run, more work is good for the student. What is truly good for him is being answered.

There is an old expression "help a hungry person today by giving them a fish, help them for a lifetime by teaching them to fish."

Sometimes God teaches us to fish. One single guy prayed to find a sweet wife. He got a tough wife. God gave him a tough wife because God has plans for this man, and He knew that if the man had too easy a road, he would not grow in character.

There is a beautiful passage in the Bible that covers this principle:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
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 verses 8 and 9)

He may be answering your prayers in a way you do not recognize. If you are asking for something that is not good for you, He may even answer your prayer by not answering your prayer.

There is also another possibility--and this is a hard teaching--you may be in a state of mind that is not close to Him.

Many of us are lost in worry, fantasy, reliving the past, and scheming for the future. We are lost in the imagination where God is not.

There is an objective state of mind, however, where we are closer to reality. and in this state we are open to sound instruction and we are closer to God.

Have you ever tried to reason with an angry out of control person? It is impossible. They cannot receive reason or wisdom. They are too subjective.

Have you ever tried to talk to someone and warn them about some person they are involved with. You try to say "don't go with him, he is no good for you." But they won't listen. They are too lost in daydreams and caught up with him.

Likewise when we are lost in worry, resentment, reminiscing, scheming, and daydreaming we are not in a frame of mind to be receptive to God's corrective love and sound instruction. We are far from Him. We are too involved in fantasies of love and hate, of what we want, or of self pity.

If we pray in this self involved state our ego is more likely to be praying to the wrong god--the god of pride who is in charge of fantasies glory, of love and hate, doubts, hatred, blame and judgment.

In our subjective state, our ego cries out for what it wants. Correction is the furthest thing from our mind. But God's Presence is at first corrective and chastising. He sends His Light, and we sense it as conscience. But we will not welcome or sense it as long as we are lost in reveling and wallowing in emotions and fantasy.

However, there is an objective state where we are not lost in fantasy, worry and daydreaming. In this objective state God's Presence is realized and our soul may have a rapport with Him. The day you welcome conscience and really want to know the truth and the day your soul years to find the Father you have never known will be the day that you will be ready to come out of your imagination and your entranced emotional state.

If you would like help to come out of your daydreams and nightmares, and your excessive involvement with imagination--we have a Christian mindfulness meditation that has helped many sincere searching people wake up from their trance and come out of being lost in thinking. It helps them find the objective state where they can realize solutions instead of dwelling on problems.

"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
(Isaiah 55: 6-13 KJV)