You have been praying for a breakthrough, for a healing, for an open door, for freedom, for a loved one to come to Christ, for a blessing and yet day after day, month after month, year after year you remain empty-handed.
Wondering if God even hears.
And if He does hear then if He truly cares.
If He has really seen your tears, understood the deep desire within your heart, and heard your cries… wouldn’t He have answered by now?
It’s a question that plagues many of our minds when we find ourselves standing in front of a closed door, still stuck in the same place, and still praying the same prayer we prayed for the past few years.
And when we lose glimpse of hope because the answer never comes we are left with one more question to ask: is it time to stop praying?
Is it time to give up?
To stop wasting our words, our time, our energy, and our tears?
What’s the point of spending our life hoping and praying for something that may never come?
Is there a time to put our hands down and stop praying?
Never.
Before you pray there are a few questions you need to ask yourself, the first and most important one being “is this part of God’s will?”
There are things God promises to us in the Bible and we can claim those promises by faith.
Promises of taking care of us, providing for us, and freeing us from bondage and sin.
We can stand on His Word and know that we can always pray for God to care for us whether it’s by providing a new job or by bringing someone we love to know Him as his or her personal savior.
But then there are things we pray for which are never promised.
Things like having a baby, a spouse, or a healing.
Each one of these are blessing in people’s lives, but not everyone receives these blessings.
Take for example Abraham and Hannah.
They were both praying for a son and they both got one.
But Abraham was promised one and Hannah wasn’t.
Abraham knew for a fact that God would answer his prayer, but Hannah didn’t.
Either way God answered them because they had faith in Him but it took a really long time for that answer to come in Hannah’s life.
In the same way, whether you are praying for an answer based on God’s promises in His Word like Abraham or praying based on God’s providence and graciousness to give to His children like Hannah you can keep on praying in hope knowing that either way He hears.
His answers don’t always come right away and sometimes even when they do they don’t come in the way we expect them to, but regardless, we can keep on praying and hoping until the very end.
If you don’t get what you are praying for today, tomorrow, or next year don’t be discouraged.
Pray the first time, and if God doesn’t answer you pray a second time, and a third time, and hundredth time if that’s how long it takes.
Be like the persistent friend who keeps on knocking on the door at night until someone opens it .(Luke 11:5-10)
Be like the persistent man who kept on waiting by the pool of Bethesda for his healing to come year after year. (John 5:1-9)
Be like the persistent widow who kept coming to court for justice until she received it. (Luke 18:1-8)
It delights God when we keep on asking Him even when His answer continues to be “No” because it’s a continual show of faith that we trust in His timing and that we won’t give up our hope in the God who sees, who hears, and who always provides.
And as you pray remember to always finish like Jesus did: “Not as I will, but may Your will be done” (Matthew 26:39).
God always know what’s best for us.
Sometimes it’s to answer the prayer right away.
Sometimes it’s to say “no” for a period of time and keep you waiting so you can build your faith in Him.
Sometimes it’s to keep your prayer unanswered in the way you desire because His plans for you are different than your own.
Regardless of what you are praying for today, never stop.
God hears the prayers of the righteous. (Psalm 34:17)
If it’s His will for you and you keep knocking day after day that door just might open for you soon.
Be blessed and never stop praying in faith! -Anna… ♥
“So I say to you: 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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”- Luke 11:9-10
Makes me think of Psalm 6:9 “The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;the Lord accepts my prayer.”
Love that verse. Very fitting for this post!
I really enjoyed this post – and I think I needed to hear it right now too 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
Great post! Thank you so much for your encouragement! Have you read “Wrestling Prayer” by Eric and Leslie Ludy? It’s one of my favorites on prayer!
Thanks Amy! I haven’t read that book but I’ll make sure to put it on my list of books to purchase next! 🙂
Thank for your beautiful post. I think I have mostly stopped praying since my Bible study ended a while back. I have no tears anymore and I don’t even know what I would pray for. I love what you wrote about ending prayers with Matthew 26:39 …even if that’s all I pray I think it fits <3. And I promise that I will never stop believing and that prayer will be a part of each day again.
Prayer is simply having a conversation with God… what you can talk to Him about is endless, your struggles, your fears, your desires, your needs… He’s there ready to listen (and respond) to whatever it is that you have on your heart. Prayer should be very important to us. If Jesus made it a priority to get away in the morning and at night (and during the day, whenever He could) to spend time with God then we should to. 🙂 I hope it will be easier for you to start talking to God again! Be blessed!
Thank You SO much, I am praying that I can go back to praying faithfully each day again. I just read James 1:12 which very much spoke to me about being patient and standing strong even in times of temptation. I know that God can give me the strength to face all this, overcome it and stay one step ahead of the devil
That’s great! With God you can overcome anything that comes your way not on your own strength but in His! I will be praying for you too 🙂
That means a lot, thank you
When we understand that praying, from God’s point of view, is more about building a relationship together than about the answers, then we understand that nothing is wasted. Prayer takes on a whole new perspective. It’s a Father-son/daughter talk while sitting on His lap. We have such a great opportunity to grow in so many ways in the process of waiting. He shows us so much about Himself, His ways, and we understand more about ourselves–our motives, what’s our heart, and we grow in faith in the process. Great post! Blessings.
Amen! Prayer IS so much more than just coming to God like He’s some type of Santa Clause and handing Him our list of requests for Him to fulfill. Life is amazing when we start seeing God as the Almighty Father that He is that we can share every day with rather than just a distant celestial being that we only come to when we are in need. We are so blessed to be able to pray to Him whenever we want to and in doing so draw closer to Him.
Hope you have a blessed day Mel!
That’s so true. We don’t want to be like the prodigal or the elder brother (Luke 15) either, treating Him like He owes us or not coming to Him at all and acting self-righteous. We have all of Him available to us every day, to enjoy and grow in as between a Father and son/daughter. Praying is about relationship more than anything else. Again, thanks for your insights and bringing up an important subject.
surely God is aware of all that is… there are promises that surly we will receive what we ask for if we keep faith; do not doubt… fear is another form of doubt — some people pray for but would fear the gift if it came… this is doubt… you cover much else
Hi Eric, you’re right, sometimes we ask but we don’t receive what we ask for because we ask without faith. It’s so important to believe God’s promises and trust His sovereignty and ability to do impossible things in our lives if only we ask.
Reblogged this on Lloyd's of Rochester – an Eclectic blog and commented:
I read this and thought of a friend who is going through a terrible time (divorce, kid involved, ’nuff said) and she is really struggling. We all go through times of varying stress and trial, some truly horrible, some just Chinese water torture. This blogger addresses that feeling of hopelessness and wondering if God is listening or there.
What a wonderful post, which reminded me of Matthew 6:8, “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” and Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Many blessings to you as you continue to encourage others through your insight into God Eternal and Precious Word.
Mikey
Thank you Mikey. Those verses are great! We are beyond blessed to have a Father in heaven who deeply cares about us and provides for our needs before we even ask!
Good stuff anna. Prayer shapes us, trials and suffering perfect us, and getting ‘no’ answer tests us. But you are correct, we must never give up, for we always need shaped, perfected, and ‘not now’ is just as good when coming from the Lord.
All the best to you in the will of the Lord.
jack
Love that statement! We are always a work in progress on the Potter’s Wheel. Being shaped, pruned, and perfected is just part of the process. It’s not easy to go through but it makes us all so much better in the end. All the best to you as well Jack. Be blessed!
i have missed gleaning from your wisdom. So blessed to be reading your posts again. Thank you for blessing us all with your time, your sharing and your love.
I really loved this post, especially the fact that God may not be answering immediately because He wants us to wait, or because it’s simply something that isn’t the best for us. I’ve also discovered that sometimes we pray for things we don’t truly want, and we don’t get them because God knows they don’t come from our heart, they come from our mind. When I am lost in a situation, I simply ask God to guide me in the right direction, instead of asking Him to help me get to a certain outcome (e.g. guide me to the right job instead of asking for a specific one).
Thanks Polina. That’s such a great way to pray! To ask for God’s guidance in a certain area of need rather than ask for a particular outcome (although specific prayers are important as well). Even when we don’t get what we prayed for we can have peace knowing that it wasn’t best for us and God has something better in mind for our futures.
I heard someone say that when we ask for something, we should say “May this or something greater come into my life”. I love that!
Me too!
Hi Anna,
Are you saying that if we are praying for someone to follow Christ, that it WILL happen?
I personally am growing so tired of praying for the same thing/person over and over, with no response from God. Its been a long time…nearly three years. I am finding my faith to be waning as I wonder where God is in this or if I somehow missed His answer or if He is saying “no” and I am to assume that based on there being no “yes.”
I recently had a Christian tell me that if my prayer isnt answered its because I lack the faith needed and dont believe enough. I dont really believe that or we would all be in trouble. And yet, Ive also been told not to pray about this at all to begin with. A pastor told me that because we have free will, its pointless to pray that a person will come to Christ…that its all their desicion, regardless of what we do/pray. I never used to believe that either. God can do anything and changes peoples’ situations, perspectives, and brings them to their knees. He did me! However,at this point, Im not so sure what to think!
I am listening, asking for wisdom and discernment, and asking for God to keep me on His path too. But gosh, I am getting tired of praying with no answer.