God Always Answers Prayers
by the Rev. John Lambert
Mending Hearts is a prayer-driven ministry. It was conceived in prayer, has been developed through prayer, and is sustained by prayer. The reason for this emphasis on prayer is the conviction that God always answers prayers.
Throughout human history, all of the great world religions have emphasized the centrality of a life of prayer as a tenet of faith. Certainly, one cannot read the Old and New Testaments of the Bible without concluding that in the Jewish and Christian Traditions, prayer and the regular praying of prayers are integral to the spiritual well-being of believers.
Prayer assumes this central role because it is one of the ways people of faith maintain a regular, conscious contact with God. As in any relationship, communication is a key in developing and maintaining the quality of the relationship. This is true whether we are speaking of friendships, marriages, professional relationships, or our relationship with God.
Many times people are troubled in their spiritual lives by the problem of “unanswered prayers”. As a pastor, I frequently hear people express confusion, disappointment, guilt, and even anger with the apparent contradiction between their belief that God hears when we pray and their own “unanswered prayers”.
As I have wrestled with this theological dilemma, I have come to the conclusion that God always answers prayers offered in good faith. There are four possible “answers” God might provide to our prayers of intercession (for others) and petition (praying for ourselves):
1. “No, because I love you.” As when a parent prevents a young child from endangering him/herself by exclaiming “NO!” as the child is about to walk into the path of an oncoming automobile.
2. “No, not yet.” As when the parent of a teen will not allow the child to drive to a distant city two weeks after obtaining a drivers’ license.
3. “Yes, I thought you would never ask.” As when a young adult finally asks his/her beloved to marry, and the response is, “Yes, I thought you would never ask!”
4. “Yes, and I will also give you more.” As when a friend of mine asked God to make him an effective pastor, and he was subsequently chosen to be a Bishop!
God always answers prayers though we can claim to be only dimly aware of the answers at times, and at other times, we simply do not like the “answers” God is providing. At such times, we need to be reminded that “God’s ways are not our ways” and that we may simply need to wait (to be still and know that God is God and I do not have to be) and watch for the evidence of God’s provision for our needs and the needs of others for whom we are praying.
As a Christian, prayer is part of the fabric of life. When we look to Jesus as portrayed in the New Testament, we discover a model for living which includes regular, disciplined times for prayer. And in St. Paul’s letters to the early church, we find frequent admonitions to pray. The example of Jesus and the encouragement to pray found throughout the Bible leads to the conclusion that prayer is a necessary means of God’s Grace. As we take this seriously and begin to pray regularly, we discover that prayer may not change God or God’s ways, but it most certainly changes us and our attitude towards life.
The result of frequent contact with God is a life filled with thankfulness and wonder at the goodness and graciousness of God. Such a life is well worth living and invested with purpose and meaning. This is truly good news and the invitation to such a life is open to all who are willing to humble themselves, admit their need, and simply ask for God’s help.