There are many factors which limit God from answering our prayers. Some people blame God for the trauma in our life caused by our own sinful behavior or by the sinful choices made by others in our life. We reap what we sow, as well as the evil in the hearts of those who perpetrate distress on our life.
In these cases, we do not see God as a powerful and benevolent Being, because we feel He could have intervened on our behalf, but He chose not to, was too busy, or was unable to do so. Many lose their faith in God, because we trusted Him to grant our wishes exactly as we prayed them, and He did not. This simply means that God had other plans for us that are even better than our expectations.
Other factors which prevent God from answering our prayers as we anticipate are our sinful motives and personal desires which hinder our prayers (Proverbs 16:2). We are centered on our self more than on God’s will and desires for us in the steps that we take in our daily walk.
Some of us are failing to give God the tenth of our income that He requires (Malachi 3:8-12), or we may see someone in need and tell them to go their way and be blessed rather than to share with them from our abundance (James 2:16; Proverbs 21:13); or Satan will fill our mind with lies and prevent us from recognizing that God is answering our prayers in ways that we did not expect.
God is not an Aladdin’s Lamp that grants our wishes. In His mercy, God rarely answers our prayers as we request. However, when we call on God in our days of trouble, He delivers us in His timing and way, and His answers will glorify Him. At times, we even offer a prayer as a last resort because we tried everything else first and it failed.
At other times, it seems redundant for us to pray for something which we know that God is already aware (Matthew 6:8); therefore, why should we pray for it? Prayer is a great way to unify our relationship with Him because it causes us to spend time with Him and to trust Him as we block out the world, satanic lies, our worries and fears, and our constant responsibilities and busyness.
Prayer:
Father God, You often use our trials to further Your Kingdom in the earth (Psalm 34:7,17,19). When doubts fill our mind, Your comfort gives us renewed hope and cheer (Psalm 94:19). When we go through deep difficulties, You are right there with us. If life gets complicated, You never leave us, forsake us, or let us down (Hebrews 13:5).
We may walk through the fire of oppression; yet, You will not allow us to be burned or the flames to consume us (Isaiah 43:2). You encourage us to trust in You alone, regardless of what this sinful world brings our way. You are always close to the brokenhearted; and You rescue those whose spirit is crushed (Psalm 34:18).
Thoughts for the Day:
We often pray for selfish desires with wrong motives (James 4:3). We reject God’s call on our life and pursue our own goals, we refuse to share our abundance with those around us who are in need, we create idols in our life and think about them more than we think about God (Psalm 66:18). This is why our egocentric prayers are never affirmatively answered.
