Charles Spurgeon once said: “We ought not to tolerate for a minute the ghastly and grievous thought that God will not answer prayer.”1 Our God, over and over in Scripture, promises that He delights to answer our prayers. The problem is so often Christians pray so little that they don’t give God the opportunity to allow Him to showcase His omnipotent prayer answering power. For we read in (Jeremiah 33:3): “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
It’s as if God is challenging us to test Him to see if He will carry out His promise to answer our prayers. I will admit that there are a few simple conditions we must meet for God to answer our prayers but once we meet them get excited for the answers will come.
For example, if we ask with the wrong motive, if we set a specific timetable for God to answer, if we ask for something out of the will of God, and if we are not fervent in our prayers, I believe the Lord is not under any obligation to answer our prayer. However, if we ask with the right motive, put no timetable on God to answer, ask according to His will, and are fervent in our prayer, then we can be confident that our prayers will be answered.
The problem with unanswered prayer never lies with God but with us and our lack of faith, patience, and persistence. I believe that God so delights to answer our prayers for two main reasons. First, it is His nature to want to bless us, His children, and second it allows our heavenly Father to showcase His power and glory to not only the church, but to the unbeliever. You see just as we desire to bless our own children, God desires to shower us with His myriad of blessings. And when He does answer our prayers we can rejoice and give Him all the praise and glory that is due His name.
My friends prayer is an amazing opportunity to talk to God about our needs and desires knowing that God delights when we meet with Him. Prayer also gives us the opportunity to dialogue with the Creator of the Universe, who has infinite power and resources to meet our needs. And answered prayer allows our awesome God to showcase His power and love for all the world to see. It is indeed a ghastly and grievous thought that God will not answer prayer for His glory and honor is at stake. May I challenge you to earnestly seek the Lord through prayer and watch how God will answer!