By Danae Templeton
What do you do when the most earnest prayer of your heart goes unanswered? What do you do when God seems silent? What do you do when the answer is no? What should your response be when the money doesn’t come, or the wayward child refuses to return, or the pain takes up residence in your heart, or the friend or parent or spouse doesn’t heal? These are unselfish prayers, prayers that you thought were close to God’s heart, so why wouldn’t He respond the way you want?
God says that, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:9). Christ Himself told His Father, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). He exhibited perfect faith, even unto death. He knew how to respond when the answer that came was not the answer He might have desired.
Allow yourself to cry out to God as David did, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest” (Ps. 22:1-2). Allow the pain an outlet, but always remember that God promises to never leave us or forsake us! We can trust Him to be continually working on our behalf and those that we are praying for—even when we don’t see it. Even when it appears that He is silent and not hearing the cries of our heart.
Just Between Us understands the pain of prayer that goes unanswered. As you read this collection of articles, we pray they help you in your struggle to trust God even when He seems silent and the waiting is hard.