5 Questions to Ask Yourself When Your Prayers Seem Unanswered

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I was going through a tough time, overwhelmed with the issues I was facing in my life and not living up to expectations I’d set for myself. The stress and worry were taking a toll and I needed something to change.

At the time, I believed in God, just didn’t have Him as a focal point in my life and wasn’t praying regularly. I had, though, recently started attending church again after a many year absence. The preacher invited me to meet him for coffee since I was a new visitor. As he listened to some of what was going on in my life, he began to counsel me to give these burdens over to God to carry.

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire? ~ Corrie Ten Boom

I didn’t really pray, except to throw up a few ‘hail Mary passes’ when I was really desperate or on behalf of a friend who asked. I didn’t expect God to be involved in the day-to-day of my life. He was a supreme being, after all, busy looking after the whole of heaven and earth. So, this idea of giving my burdens and worry to God to carry was a foreign idea to me.

As we talked, though, I agreed to give this a try. I was desperate, so what would it hurt? But, how to even get started? And how long would this take to work?

‘Help’ is a prayer that is always answered. ~ Anne Lamott

That day, I began to pray a simple prayer to ask God to carry my burdens for a while. I decided I would keep praying that same simple prayer every day for a few weeks to see if it did any good.

Those first days, I didn’t really believe the words I was praying. I hoped God could magically fix my problems and take away the worry, but couldn’t imagine how that would happen. I still believed that I needed to fix all these problems on my own.

The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays. ~ Soren Kierkegaard

As I kept praying, I began a shift. From thinking an answer to this prayer was impossible to hoping God would intervene. From hope to wanting to hear an answer from God. From wanting to hear a response to believing a response was possible. From belief to anticipation; from anticipation to expectation, expecting that God would actually answer my prayer and then becoming watchful and observant to see how He would reply.

How often do you set a time-table for your prayers? “I’ll pray this for a week, for 21 days, for a month.” Yet, God doesn’t work that way. He’s not operating on our time frames or our schedules. He works in an entirely different dimension. He wants us to keep praying until the prayer is answered.

Pray until you pray. ~ Puritan advice

Stop asking “how long do I keep praying before I’ll have an answer?” or “how long do I keep praying even though God’s not answering?” Instead, make sure what you’re praying is in alignment with God and then commit to keep praying until you become aware of God’s answer to that prayer. Keep praying until you truly believe in the prayer and can open yourself to allowing God to answer it in His way.

5 Questions to Ask Yourself When Your Prayers Seem Unanswered

When your prayers seem to go unanswered and God feels distant, stop and ask yourself these five questions. Check the alignment of your heart and prayers. Do you need any adjustments in your prayers, in your approach, in your expectation of how God might be answering your prayer? Once you’ve done this heart-check and realignment, keep praying. Remember that God answers prayer in His way, in His time, and to His purpose and glory.

1) Check your motivation.

Is what you’re praying in alignment with God’s plan or something for your own plan?

2) Check your heart.

Do you believe God will really answer your prayer and are you praying with full sincerity?

3) Check your expectation.

Do you have a preconceived expectation of how God will answer your prayer or have you opened yourself to the possibility that God may answer in an entirely unexpected way?

4) Check your observation.

Are you looking for God’s response around you? Are you being watchful and observant to see the ways God is at work answering your prayer? Are you listening for God’s response or are you too busy asking?

5) Check your gratitude.

Are you showing God your gratitude for His work in your life? Thanking Him for the ways He’s answering your prayers? Are you cultivating that relationship with Him through regular prayer and gratitude?

“It is not enough for the believer to begin to pray, nor to pray correctly; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray. We must patiently, believingly continue in prayer until we obtain an answer.” – George Muller

PRAY DEEP CHALLENGE: Consider your biggest prayer request and how long you’ve been praying it. Are you still waiting for an answer? Review the five checks above and see if your request is aligned with God. Spend some time thinking about God may already be answering your prayer. Then, commit to continuing in prayer and PRAY!

This post is part of the “Pray Deep” series. For more information on the series or to download a complete set of printable prayer cards, click HERE.

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