Trusting God on The Other side Of Unanswered Prayers.

Have you had a season of unanswered prayers? Have you experienced disappointments? Maybe you’ve been praying for someone to get healed but they did not or maybe you prayed to get an opportunity that seemed lucrative but you did not get it. Maybe you prayed for a relationship to work, but you still broke up. There are very many reasons one could experience disappointment through unanswered prayer.

When you experience disappointment, it’s very difficult to have faith for the next time you go through a difficult situation. I mean, how will you pray and ask God to do something now when He did not do it in the past? How can you trust God on the other side when you did not see Him come through in the past? Maybe you have been going through such a season where it almost seems like your prayers are hitting the Ceiling. You might wonder where you will go from there.

First, it’s important to understand that unanswered prayers lead to a broken heart and can wear your faith down. In Proverbs, we see Solomon say that Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but hope fulfilled is a tree of life. So your feeling disappointed or frustrated is very normal and is expected. Let us first start by asking ourselves why our prayers go unanswered. Have you been wondering too? Let’s explore a little further.

Why do our prayers go unanswered?

Gods will

You know, sometimes it is difficult to understand God’s ways. He says that His ways are higher than our ways. So in His Sovereignty, He sometimes does things that, as humans, we cannot comprehend. Truth be told, God can do anything and nothing is impossible with Him. Yet sometimes He will in His Sovereignty He will not do the things we thought He would like healing someone. And this can be frustrating and disappointing, to say the least. And recognizing that He knows best sometimes can be our only option. Our task therefore is to trust that even when it does not make sense, He knows what He is doing and still has our best interest at heart. Sometimes faith is required in the spaces we don’t understand and that is okay, too.

Him,I know it is hard and frustrating, but you just need to trust Him in the confusion. Job went through unimaginable pain but God was with him through it all. God is with you and He is holding you in the palm of His hand, so don’t be afraid, trust Him, and know that His will is always better. Let Jeremiah 29: 11 help you through the confusion and know that God’s plan for you is always to give you hope and a future. Therefore, although it looks dark right now, it will get better. God also says that when we seek Him we will find Him and when we pray to Him, He will answer. So although it does not make sense, just cry out to Him in your frustrations and be honest. He already knows that you are frustrated, but it is when you tell Him that healing occurs.

Sin could be the reason for unanswered prayers.

David said that his hidden sin prevented God from hearing him. But the minute he confessed his sin and repented, God heard him, forgave him, and answered his prayer. Sin will separate us from God and hinder our prayers from being answered. So let me ask you this: are you harboring any hidden sin? Have you confessed your sins? God says that when you repent, He will hear from heaven, forgive you, and heal your land.

Whatever it is, don’t be afraid to ask God for forgiveness. He says that as far as the east is from the west, God remembers your sins no kore. It does not matter how many times you have sinned. In Romans, Paul reminds us we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. You and I will never be perfect as long as we are on earth. Stop allowing condemnation and guilt to keep you from experiencing the forgiveness of sin. Stop harboring hidden sin and repent because God is more than willing to forgive you.

Failure to partner with God can lead to unanswered prayers.

Disobedience could lead to unanswered prayers. There are conditions that sometimes need to be met before God can answer our prayers. What instruction is God asking you to do? Have you done everything that is required of you? God partners with us, He always wants to involve us because He wants a relationship with us. Gideon’s victory came through a partnership with God. God asked him to choose only 300 men for battle and when he did, he came out victorious. What is God asking you to do today? Remember, there is victory and breakthrough on the other side of your obedience.

But what’s the correct posture to have having experienced unanswered prayers?

Honesty.

It’s okay to tell God exactly what you are feeling. Are you disappointed? Angry? Hurt? Frustrated? Tired? Exhausted? It does not matter what emotions you are experiencing. You can cry out to God and tell him you don’t understand what’s going on. It’s okay to tell Him that whatever has happened hurt you. Take your frustrations to Him. He knows what you are feeling, but He can only heal what you bring to Him. It is difficult to trust Him when having known Him as a healer. He fails to heal someone you were praying for. Don’t hide it from Him. Or maybe it’s a job that you wanted to get, but did not. It is very okay to go to Him and tell Him that you are angry you did not get the opportunity.

Your emotions do not intimidate God, HE can handle them. In fact, it is through your honesty that you are able to process whatever you are feeling. In Psalms 38, David was not afraid to express his frustrations to God. He knew he had a safe space to air out his frustrations. Jesus, before facing the cross, was not afraid to tell God what he was feeling and how He would prefer THAT God would take away the cup from Him. Tell God what’s on your mind. Did you know a problem shared is a problem half solved?

Journal.

Writing your emotions is a proper way to process what you are feeling. Sometimes it’s difficult to understand what you are feeling until you write your feelings down. You can get a journal or just a normal notebook to use as your journal. Write everything you are feeling. When you journal your thought, you help put to words what you are feeling. This helps you to understand your emotions better and instead of managing them, you are able to confront them so that you can get the healing you need. Journaling is therapeutic, write it all down.

Solitude.

Instead of busying yourself to avoid the pain, the best thing to do is to embrace solitude. How else will you heal if you don’t listen to your soul? When you want to really experience healing and understand your emotions, solitude is key. It is in solitude that God will minister to you and give you the healing you so deeply need. It is in solitude that you will get the revelation that you need to move forward. Yes, it makes little sense, but do you know God can give you the revelation that will help you find peace in the why?

Ask God what He is teaching you through this.

God never wants you to experience pain if there is no purpose. As Him what He wanted you to learn from this disappointment. Why did He allow it to happen? What lesson does He want you to learn? God is not a saddist and everything He takes us through is for a purpose and ultimately for our good. There is always a lesson to learn in every season.

Could it be that God wants to redirect you? Maybe He wants you to experience some form of freedom. Or maybe He wants you to learn to trust Him and stop doing things in your own strength. Whatever the case may be, God has a plan and purpose for your life and every season has a lesson for your destiny.

Ask God to help you in your faith.

The problem with having experienced unanswered prayers is that your faith deteriorates. In all honesty, it’s much harder to pray when what you were believing God for, does not come through. It takes courage and confidence. In Acts 12, the Christians were faced with such a situation. They had John beheaded and now Peter was imprisoned by Herod and they did not know what to expect. Yet the Bible says that they prayed earnestly. Earnestly, a few verses above they had witnessed John beheaded and now Peter was most likely going to face the same predicament, and yet they prayed.

Can you imagine the level of faith they needed to have to believe in the prayers they were making? Can you relate? Have you ever had to believe God when your last prayer had gone unanswered? Where do you even start praying? What do you say? The Christians must have been praying knowing that Peter would experience the same. So they must have been asking God to strengthen Peter. Obviously, they knew God was capable of anything but the fact that they knew Herod’s history as well they must have resolved to accept whatever came.

Keep on knocking

Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, those who seek, find and the ones who knock will have their doors opened for them. Jesus is reminding us we should never stop asking. It is hard to trust God after He failed to answer your last prayer. But I want to tell you that God still answers prayers. God has never and will never change. This, then should give you the confidence to keep trusting after the heartbreak from unanswered prayers.

Faith is the strength to believe on the other side of unanswered prayers. Can you imagine the strength the Christians in Acts 12 had to have to pray, knowing very well that Herod had James beheaded? Faith requires you to trust God again, even with the awareness that He did not answer your prayer the last time.

I love the story in Luke 18. There was a widow who persistently sought justice from an unjust judge. The Bible tells us she did not let the negative report from the judge deter her. She kept on knocking until one day the judge, having had enough, gave in to her request. How persistent the lady must have been. You never know how close you are to your answer.

So don’t stop knocking or believing. Abraham trusted God even when it made little sense. God is asking you to trust Him today. Resolve in your mind that you will keep on knocking until you break through. Your persistence will pay off. There is a reward for your persistence and your unrelenting faith. You will receive your answer in due time if you faint not.

Conclusion

I know you have grown weary from the disappointment, but will you trust God? Who knows, this time might be different. You worship God, who hears and sees everything. He is also just, so He does not need your convincing. All He requires from you is faith. Jesus said that with faith as small as that of a mustard seed, you will move mountains.

You might have experienced a season of not having your prayers answered. But keep going, get back up and try again. Jesus wants to heal your heart from disappointment and He wants you to know that you might go through a crushing season right now, but you will emerge victorious. You will not always have your prayers go unanswered. There will come a time when you will experience the goodness of having your prayers answered.

So why not try again and again until God answers your prayers? God will not hide His face from you forever. He will answer. So whenever you are tempted to quit, just remember that this will not always be your story. Your story will end in victory, God will answer your prayer and you will dance in joy. This is a testimony that God is building in your life. God will restore and when He does, it will be as though it never happened because He makes it better than it ever was.