"Unanswered" Prayers

(Photo cred: Lisa L "prayer")

(Originally written for Douglas County Publishing: Pastor's Meditation August 2, 2016)

Is any one of you in trouble?  He should pray.  Is anyone happy?  Let him sing songs of praise.  Is any one of you sick?  He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.  If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:13-16).

Growing up, Garth Brooks was one of my favorite singers.  I can remember watching his concerts that were televised, and singing along to his songs when they came on the radio.  “Unanswered Prayers” was one of those. 

The song tells the story of Brooks and his wife going to a hometown football game, and running into his “old high school flame.”  This was the sweetheart who he thought he would be with forever.  He had even prayed to God about her as a young man.  As you know or can probably figure out, Brooks sings of how thankful he was for the future that God has actually laid out, and for giving him the woman that he married.  Reflecting on all this, he finds, “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”     

I recently finished preaching through the book of James.  When we came to the final section, we focused on our ability to pray and be heard by God in all circumstances.  Whether we are in trouble and sick, or whether we are happy and experiencing wonderful blessings, we can pray.  We can do that because we worship, serve, and follow a God who loves us and cares for us.  He, our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, has given us a means to communicate with him. 

And yet what about the “unanswered” prayers?  I differ a bit theologically from Garth Brooks in that I believe God does answer all of our prayers, though his answer may be different from our request.  But when “the prayer offered in faith” does not bring healing or comfort or whatever desired end we petitioned God for, what happened?  When God does not work the miracle we specified, is he acting against his word? 

Christians have long struggled with this.  Mark 9:14-29 and Matthew 17:14-21 tell the account of a man who brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus for healing.  Matthew’s record tells us he had brought him to the disciples before, but they had not been able to heal him.  Now the father pled with Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”  To which Jesus responded, “‘If you can?’  Everything is possible for him who believes.”  The man speaks, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”  And Jesus rebuked and dismissed the demon. 

Later, his disciples ask him, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”  Jesus taught them, “Because you have so little faith.  I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.”  Mark gives an even simpler response of Jesus, “This kind can only come out by prayer.”

Is the problem of “unanswered” prayers not so much then with God’s hearing and response, but is it the pray-er’s fault?  Are we, like the disciples, just too weak in faith, or not righteous enough?  This may be true at times.  When we pray, what we do should be an act of faith.  The words we speak out loud or silently to God should not just be wishes that we are unsure about.  Our prayers should be expressions of what we believe God is able to do.  That means we also have to know the power of God, his sovereignty, and that he is able to do far more than you or I.  God can do much more than we might typically expect.

But other times, we must be reminded of the testimonies of the psalmist and the prophet.  “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him” (Psalm 115:3).  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts…so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:8-9, 11).

God has, does, and will continue to work according to his greater plan and purposes.  He will do what brings him glory.  We still ought to pray.  He does answer prayer, and his answers of healing do bring him glory when he chooses to perform them! 

While we can and should trust these words, let’s remember that they are not always the most comforting, the most pastoral for those in the depths of sorrow.  We ought to take care in using them—there may be a better time when some healing has happened.  But what we can hold and share, when it seems that God is not answering our prayers according to our requests, is that God is still God.  He is still with us.  His answer in our present sufferings may be that we would know him to be our great comfort.