Why doesn’t God always answer prayers?
Why doesn’t God always answer prayers?
One of the remarkable gifts the Creator has given human beings is free will. We have self-consciousness, creativity, emotions and the ability to reason and make choices.
This freedom to make choices is one reason the world is in such a mess. Human history is a catalog of failed experiments involving governments, religions and philosophies that have promised happiness, peace and prosperity for everyone. The missing ingredient in all of these experiments is the way of life designed by the Creator of life.
It’s not that God doesn’t want to be involved—it’s that most of the time we don’t invite Him to be involved. Each of us labors under the belief that “I can do it my way” and make life work. Regrettably, we seldom stop to ask, “Is this really working?”
We can talk with God anytime, but a quirk of human nature is that if we don’t get an immediate and positive answer, we conclude He didn’t respond to our prayer.
When God doesn’t seem to respond to our prayers, we need to ask ourselves whether we have separated ourselves from Him by our actions and choices. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God says: “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save . . . but your iniquities have separated you from your God . . .” (Isaiah 59:1-2).
Sometimes we need to evaluate our own humility before the Creator of the universe. He’s not the proverbial genie in a bottle granting wishes to those who perform the right incantations. Far too many approach God with a flippant, disrespectful attitude and wonder why He doesn’t respond.
Jesus said that if we have faith, then we can ask God to move mountains and He will cast them into the sea. It’s safe to say that God doesn’t want Christians going around throwing all the mountains into the sea. One of the most difficult aspects of having free will is having enough trust in God to say, “Your will be done.” We must have confidence that God has our best interests at heart.
Source: When God Doesn’t Make Sense
