By Jodi Kinasewitz
“Un”answered prayers are hard to accept and understand, but there is hope in the waiting. As believers, we can rest assured that God is on the move in many and mighty ways.
If you have been praying a prayer for what seems like forever now, and you find yourself feeling frustrated or weary because it seems as if an answer is never coming, hold on, friend hold on. And remember,
“He is working all things together for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28).
There are times when we don’t see God’s magnificent handiwork, or His glorious riches. Sometimes, it seems as if He is “ignoring” our prayers because we don’t see or hear His answer. These times are when we must hold on to hope and stand firm in our faith.
Consider these 3 reasons and ways that we may never see, know, or understand that God is using our adversities to complete His good work.
- He is working on delivering someone else out of bondage. Our struggles, our difficult storms in life may be a blessing to and for others. Just as God used Joseph’s season of despair of being sold into slavery by his own brothers, and that resulting in the saving of an entire nation, God uses our difficult times to help others. Our season of illness, depression, grief, loneliness, or despair may be what saves someone else. Others will see, and hear, the wondrous works God has done in and through our struggles, and this will give them hope in Jesus. Life happens, the good, the bad, and the ugly so that others see His power at work and turn their hope and trust to Him. Our stories are never just about us. As Christians, if we don’t share our struggles, if we present a facade of a fairy tale life, we can be a deterrent to others’ desiring a relationship with God. We may not see His work in action or ever know the results, but by sharing our stories of struggle others will see that God is a God of redemption and salvation. Our burdens may be the bridge to someone else’s salvation.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20 NIV).
- God’s work in us is not yet complete. He is using the burdens in our lives to make us more sensitive to His good works. He is refining and restoring us. If we live a problem free life we run the risk of becoming complacent, and we develop a self- sufficient demeanor. The difficult times in our lives build perseverance and from this perseverance we build endurance to run our given race. And our race does not end on this earth. We are living this one life, an earthly life tainted with trials, so that we can one day live an eternity in Heaven with Christ. When we are faced with struggles, we tend to draw closer to God out of our desperate need for Him. The storms in our lives help us realize that we can’t live this life alone, that we do in fact need Him and depend on Him more than ever. During our difficult times, we become a first hand witness to His great love; he rescues us from our suffering. I am not sure who said it, but I once heard someone say, “When all seems to be lost, and God is all we have, we realize He is all we ever needed.” We must experience the suffering of the slavery in order to fully appreciate the exodus.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17 NIV).
- God wants to show us that He still moves through prayer. Again, if life is ALL good, we may not reach out and show our need for Him or ask for His help. We soldier on, “handling” all of our own problems. What we need to realize is that our problems are indeed HIS problems. He has given us trials to teach us, guide us, and grow us. Our valleys draw us nearer to Him. And, when it rains, the valleys fill first. He quenches our thirst, and he saturates our dry soils with his mercy, love, compassion and grace. Our “un”answered prayers are not just about us. An answer may be coming to someone else in regards to something else, but it can still be an answer to our prayer.
We may never see it, hear of it, or know of it, but there is always an answer. If we look back on our seasons of struggle, we will see God’s fingerprints and presence over every bit of the pain. He answers every prayer in His way and in His time.
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