What to Do When Your Prayers Seem to Go Unanswered

Have you ever prayed for days, weeks, or even years at a time and still found yourself wondering, When is God going to answer this prayer?

When I pray, I really want my prayers to get answered. I know faith and patience and timing are all in the mix, but sooner or later, I need to hear from God because―let’s face it―there are some pretty outrageous promises in His Word, and if we’re not experiencing them for ourselves, we need to start asking why.

It could be one of the following three reasons.

1. You’re Unaware of God’s Will

John 15:7 says, “If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.”

Well, I thought I knew that scripture up and down and then one day, I just got bold enough to ask God, “Why is this not working?”

It turned out there was a word in that scripture I hadn’t paid much attention to―abiding. It means “to live in, dwell in, and remain in.” When you have that kind of close relationship with God, you get to know His heart and you have a greater sense of the things you should pray for, and what His will truly is.