Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Someone may ask, “Does this mean that God will give me anything, literally anything, for which I pray?” The short answer is “Absolutely not!” But He does answer every single prayer we pray in one of three ways – by saying “YES”, “NO” or “NOT NOW.”
If you are troubled because God did not answer a certain prayer you prayed, it is probably because one of the following three things is true: (1) If your request was wrong, God said “No”; (2) If your timing was wrong, God said, “Slow”; (3) If you were wrong, God said, “Grow.” But, if your request was right, your timing was right, and you were also right, God said, “Go”. Let us examine each of these possibilities briefly.
Some prayer requests, no matter how well intentioned, are inappropriate because the timing is wrong. For example, there was the time Peter, James, and John accompanied Jesus to the top of a high mountain when He was transfigured along with Moses and Elijah. Peter came up with what he thought was a brilliant idea: “Master, let us build shelters up here on the mountain — one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah so that James, John, and I can stay on the mountain and bask in your glory” (Matthew 17:1-8). The request was totally inappropriate. Staying on the mountain is not what Jesus had in mind for them, and He said “No.”
Before bringing any of our prayer requests before the Lord in prayer there are four very important questions we should ask: (1) Will that for which I am praying glorify Christ? (2) Will it advance His kingdom? (3) Will it help or bless people? Will it enable me to grow spiritually?
When the timing of our prayer requests is wrong, God says, “Slow.” We live in an instant society, always trying to do everything faster. Freeways and supermarkets have express lanes. We are twenty miles from home and our children ask, “Are we there yet?” We want God to answer our prayers now – if not sooner! Instant gratification fits our idea much better than having to wait – even for the things we want God to do in answering our prayers. We do not know when the best time for God to answer any prayer is, but He does.
Sometimes God delays in answering a certain prayer to test our faith, or to give us time to modify our request. And sometimes He delays in order to give us time to develop our character qualities such as endurance, trust, patience and submission – qualities that come only when we wait patiently and trust God’s timing. A lot of spiritual gain comes through pain, hurt, struggle, confusion and disappointment. We may not be able to see God’s reasons for delaying an answer to our prayer, but we can trust God. He loves us.
The third reason why some of our prayers are not answered is that something is wrong in our own lives. For example, there is a barrier between us and God. We are so busy with other things that we take little time to bow before God in prayer. God delays to answer because He wants us to “Grow.” Prayer is more than asking God to run errands for us. Thinking of God only in terms of giving us what we want for ourselves portrays Him as our private genie. Prayer doesn’t work that way.
It is especially when our outlook is bad that we should try the up-look. Days hemmed in by prayer on both ends are not likely to come unraveled in the middle. Know this: God is never more than a prayer away.
It is when a prayer glorifies God, seeks to build His kingdom on earth, and is aimed at meeting human need that God says, “Go.”
The Paper Pulpit 
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