“God Did Not Answer My Prayer!”

Several years ago the father of a young man I know owned and operated a pool hall in South Carolina. He got into a fight with an unruly patron that continued out onto the sidewalk. In the course of the fight he picked the patron up above his shoulders, threw him down onto the sidewalk, and his skull was severely fractured. He was immediately carried to the hospital. Later that evening he died.

The young man said to me, “My father was charged with involuntary manslaughter, tried and found guilty, and was sentenced to serve time in prison. I prayed that God would not let my father go to prison.” He paused briefly, and then concluded disappointedly . . . “but God did not answer my prayer!”

Was the young man right? Did God turn a deaf ear to his prayers? Absolutely not! I believe God answered his prayer in a far greater way than he thought possible at the time. Several years later I had the opportunity to be the guest evangelist in a series of revival services in the young man’s church. Only one person that entire week came to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord – and it was that young man’s father. He had served his sentence, was out of prison, and was attending the revival services that week.

God had answered the young man’s prayer in a far greater way than he had asked. I believe He answers every prayer. He answers in one of three ways: By saying: “Yes” . . . “No” . . . . or “Not Now.” When God says “No” to our prayers it is for one or more of the following reasons:

• We do not ask according to God’s will. God’s will is clearly stated in the Bible, and His will is always consistent with His Word. Prayers that are prayed for selfish reasons clearly do not coincide with God’s will (see James 4:3). And God will not give us what we request if He knows it is not what we need or would not be good for us. He knows what is best for us; we often do not.
• We do not even ask. Even the omnipotent God, who created our unbelievably immense and complex universe, cannot and will not answer a prayer that is not prayed.
• We do not pray in Jesus’ name. Jesus said to His disciples: “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14). He is God’s uniquely born Son. God will answer every prayer that glorifies His Son.
• We do not really believe God will answer. Jesus said, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (Matthew 21:22). Going to God without faith is like going to the shopping mall without money. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith does not demand miracles. It does, however, create the kind of environment where miracles are possible – and often happen.
• We do not pray specifically. Be specific in your prayer requests. A member of the Temple Baptist Church in Wilmington in the 1970’s was scheduled to enter the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She said to me, “Pray for me, but don’t just mention my name. Give God my street address also.” It was a tongue in cheek statement, of course, but she knew the value of being specific in her prayers.
• We have unconfessed sin in our lives. King David wrote in Psalm 66:18: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” God is a holy God, and we cannot enter His presence with known sin in our lives, sin of which we have not repented, and for which we have not sought God’s forgiveness.
• We are unwilling to forgive others. In the prayer Jesus taught us to pray we find these words: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 5:12). Forgiveness is a two-way street. We have no right to ask for God’s forgiveness if we are unwilling to forgive others their trespasses. Are there persons whom you have not forgiven? If so, why would you ask God to forgive you, if you are unwilling to forgive others? Forgive them – it won’t hurt you — then God can and will forgive you.

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