unanswered prayer

PRAYER Dialogue between God and people, especially His covenant partners.

Randy Hatchett, “Prayer,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1320.

Have faith in God

Matthew 21:21 ESV

And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.

Mark 11:22–24 ESV

And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

One limitation that causes our prayer to be unanswered is that our faith is limited. Faith is the confident expectation that what was asked for has already been received. This is faith in the realm of prayer. This is not a “blank check” to ask for anything you want. Actually, this is the kind of faith that rests in the promises of God. We can firmly approach in prayer and believe that we already have that which God has promised. It is not that anything we want will happen, but whatever God has promised will happen.

Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Messianic Bible Study Collection, vol. 151 (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 1983), 15–16.

I am acting as a good steward of the current situation in which God has me, until he provides clarity for what is next. I am doing what I already know to do until he intervenes.

Steven Smith, Exalting Jesus in Jeremiah, Lamentations (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2019), 108.

Waiting is not idleness. Waiting is the difficult work of quietly and doggedly positioning ourselves for what God will bring later

Steven Smith, Exalting Jesus in Jeremiah, Lamentations (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2019), 109.

This prayer expresses trust. All the pressure is on God to come though in this situation. This prayer expresses confidence in God’s ability to act: God, I am waiting on your reply because I can’t fix this myself

Steven Smith, Exalting Jesus in Jeremiah, Lamentations (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2019), 109.

It allows us to know the joy of dependence on God.

Steven Smith, Exalting Jesus in Jeremiah, Lamentations (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2019), 109.

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7), for God is good to those who wait for Him (Lamentations 3:25). And our patience often reveals the degree of trust we have in God’s timing. We must remember that God operates according to His perfect and foreordained eternal schedule, not ours.

Got Questions Ministries, Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002–2013).

“But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength;

Got Questions Ministries, Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002–2013).

paticence a spiritual fruit

Another key to understanding God’s timing is trust.

Got Questions Ministries, Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002–2013).

prepare