Unanswered Prayer
A teenage girl once confessed to me, “Sir, two years ago, my mom and dad were killed in a car crash. They were the best parents a girl could ever have. I’ve wondered how God could allow them to be killed in such a violent way; for the past two years, I’ve held a grudge against him. Doesn't God protect his own? I can’t pray anymore with real trust in him because I believe he failed me. I guess you can say I’m mad at the Lord. What can I do?”
A young couple I know has been harboring resentment against the Lord for nearly ten years. Their beautiful, five-year-old daughter died shortly after being stricken with a brain tumor, and they grew bitter. They have stayed in church and gone through all the motions, but they no longer believe in the effectiveness of prayer. They have been afraid to disown God, afraid to call him a liar or an unfaithful Father, but they have never forgiven him for “taking away their only child.”
Almost every Christian, at some time in his or her life, has had to face the problem of unanswered prayer. A prayer goes unanswered for weeks and months, even years. An unexpected illness or tragedy claims a loved one. Things happen that have no rhyme or reason, and then faith begins to falter.
Dear believer, the Word makes it very clear that a wavering person will never receive anything from God.
Jesus understood this tendency in his children to hold grudges against heaven when mountains are not moved on schedule. He warned Peter not to ask anything when standing in God’s presence lest he be unforgiving in some matter. “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25, NKJV).
I believe Jesus was saying, “Don’t stand in God’s presence, asking for mountains to be removed or for forgiveness of your sins, if you have a secret grudge in your heart against heaven. Get it out! Let the Spirit of forgiveness flow through you. Cry out to your faithful Father. He has not failed. He will answer. He will supply. Submit yourself and ask him to forgive you for allowing these doubts to spring up.”