What To Do When Your Prayers Are Not Answered

Have you ever prayed so hard for something? Maybe you wanted something to happen this week for you, you followed what you thought was the right steps to prayer, started with thanksgiving, then made your requests known to God, thanked Him for the answered prayer (because you had faith that He will do it) then to round up the prayer, you prayed in tongues, oh you spoke in tongues till you literally felt Heaven come down. You were so sure God heard you, no doubt, then you stepped out feeling like a boss! Even that Sunday in church, Pastor declared a blessing over your life and blessed your week, over confidence was doing you (their darrddy!). You were so ready to face the week, no devil can stop your miracle this week.... Monday passed, then Tuesday followed nothing happened, before you knew it, Friday came, the week was finally over and what you prayed for did not happen, haaa!

Then you start to question everything, doesn't God answer prayers anymore? Did He even hear me? I told him how badly I needed this, how my life depended on this result this week, why didn't he answer me? Does He not love me anymore? Does He not care that I told Him how much I needed this? Or wait a minute... was it my fault? Didn't I say the right words? Didn't I have enough faith? Is there a sin in my life that is preventing God from answering me? You check yourself to see if you were holding any grudges against someone before you prayed, that could explain why God didn't answer you, but after checking and trying to recall, you can't think of anyone you're holding grudges against, you're a good Christian and you do your best to live in obedience to God.

The worst part is, you know it like you know your name that God exists and there is nothing impossible before Him, ah you've seen Him move in your life in many ways before, you've seen Him perform major miracles in other people's lives, you know He is still God and still very much in the business of blessing people. So what could be the problem this time??? Why didn't He answer you? What you even asked him for is something too small that all He needed to do was snap his finger and it will easily be done but He did not do it, why? If you're like me, you probably found yourself sulking all day, refusing to go out on a weekend, just so you can stay in bed and sulk some more (spoilt child lol), trying to figure out answers to your "why" questions.

This happened to me recently and it got me thinking... I think sometimes God chooses not to answer our prayers "when" we want it answered. It reminds me of the story of Lazarus, when Lazarus was sick and his sisters (Mary and Martha) sent for Jesus because they knew He could heal him, they had seen Him perform miracles before, so they knew this was a small thing for Him, no doubt that He could do it. Jesus was very close to these siblings, He used to visit them a lot, they were tight pals. Yet, when they sent for Jesus, He did not come immediately, He took his precious time.. waited for some days and by the time He decided to come Lazarus was dead and buried, body smelling and rotting away. By that time of-course, Mary and Martha were upset, how could they call on their good friend (their padi) who they knew heals the sick everywhere He goes but when it came to healing their brother, He refused to come until he was dead. They started doing what most of us do when our prayers are unanswered, sulking and said to Jesus "Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died". You probably said something like that recently "Lord if you had showed up, I would not have had this major disappointment"

The question is did Jesus not love these siblings or was healing Lazarus impossible for him? Of-course not... so why did He delay? This simply shows the nature of God, as much as He is a God that spits fire and moves swiftly when He needs to. However, most of the time, He is often laid back. You know why? Because He is GOD, He knows He can do it and He will do it at the right time, He knows the best time. You're the one panicking, God is not.
I believe Jesus delayed in coming to heal Lazarus because He wanted them to experience a different dimension of His miracles. If He had just come and healed Lazarus from his "sickness" when they wanted him to, it would have been "just another miracle" just another day of Jesus doing "His thing", no big deal... So instead, He waited until the situation seemed impossible (Lazarus died) before He showed up and when He did, oh Mary & Martha didn't know that they were about to experience the biggest miracle of their lives, the kind they had never witnessed before, they lost hope because they had only seen Jesus heal the sick, they didn't believe He could raise the DEAD.

Then Jesus told them, take me to the place where you have laid him (maybe God is telling you today, take me to the place where you lost hope). When they took Jesus to the grave, all He said was "Lazarus come forth" and just like that! He rose from the dead, walked out of his grave, bouncing like a gee, like he was never even sick or dead, it was as if He was just asleep the whole time and woke up from a sweet nap. Not a single stench of rotten smell from his previously dead body, Lazarus was whole again and everybody was AMAZED!!! You see, that's the kind of Miracle God wants to perform in your lives, the Jaw dropping kind, the kind that when He does, you would know for sure that it was Him, He takes glory for that. If the situation looked possible, then you would not have needed a miracle in the first place.

The truth is God answers ALL the prayers of His children, He either answers with a Yes, Not now or No (I have something better). If you say a prayer and the answer seems delayed, it is simply because God has a better plan, be anxious for nothing- Philippians 4:6-7. The reason why we get anxious most times is either because of our pride or misguided identity in our achievements. The reason why I got upset when my prayer wasn't answered when I wanted it to was because I was "performance driven" I was unconsciously putting my identity in my ability to perform 100% and when I did everything I could do, I worked hard and prayed hard because I already know that apart from Jesus I can do nothing. Yet I didn't get the desired result, I got frustrated.. but now when I look back I thank God for not answering my prayer when I wanted it because if He had, I would have kept getting off of that high of "performance", feeling great when I perform well and feeling like a failure when I don't. He wanted to deliver me of that and I'm so grateful because the truth is, we are only humans and we will not always get it right all the time. So if we can only put our trust in the God that never fails, we can live in perfect peace because He will not fail you. He may not show up on your own clock but when He does, He will make up for all the times He delayed, it will be a flawless miracle, (just like the case of Lazarus) it will be as though the delay never even happened.

So now, I've learned to rejoice when my prayers seem delayed because then I know God is planning something Way Better. I've come to the conclusion that when I pray, whether I get an immediate answer or my answer is delayed, I rest in these FACTS:

• God loves me, God is good and He does good, He wants the best for me and His plans for me are good- Psalms 106:1, Jeremiah 29:11.
• He knows my needs even before I ask, He cares for me and He will not let me slip and fall, He is going to show up when I need Him the most- Matthew 6:8, Psalm 55:22.
• My labor in the Lord is not in vain, I will reap the fruits of my labor- 1 Corinthians 15:58, Psalms 128:2.
• His grace is sufficient for me and that's all I need- 2 Corinthians 12:9. 

So stay in faith, don't stop praying, stay humble and give thanks in every circumstances. Like I always say, the devil is not after your stuff (miracle), he is after your mind (your peace), your belief. If he can get you to doubt God or lose your peace, then he wins but you can gain back your victory and reclaim your peace by firmly believing in the word of God, in His timing and His perfect plan for you.

If this post blessed you, don't forget to bless someone else, share to your friends and social media pages... xoxo.