We desire to say a little about unanswered prayers; it is a subject of interest. Not a few could say, if they were asked, "I have prayed for years about a certain thing, and the answer has not come yet." And they want to know why. That question we will endeavor to answer.
In the first place, some prayers never will be answered-at least, not in the form in which they are presented. There is the well-known case of Paul. He besought the Lord thrice that the thorn in the flesh might depart from him, and yet the request was not allowed. It was better for him that it should not be granted; and so it may be in your case. David's history affords another instance. He greatly desired to build a house for the Lord. It was a right thought, and he would only have been too glad to obtain permission; but it could not be. And yet both Paul and David did receive answers-Paul received grace so that he could glory in his infirmities, and David had the satisfaction of knowing that Solomon would build the Lord a house. The answers came in unexpected ways. May it not be so in our case? We have received an answer, but the answer assumed a somewhat different shape from the request; and for want of attentiveness we failed to recognize it. John Newton describes an experience akin to this. He says:
"I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith and love and every grace,
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek more earnestly His face.
" `Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He, I know, has answered prayer;
But it has been in such a way
As almost drove me to despair."
Our prayers then may have been answered, though differently from what we anticipated. But there are cases where no distinct answer in any shape has come. We may have asked for a thing that would not he good for us, or that is unreasonable, or altogether beyond us. Of this class is the prayer of the mother of Zebedee's children. She made request that her two sons might sit on the right and left hand of Christ in His kingdom. The Lord had to say to her, "Ye know not what ye ask." Doubtless she thought how fine it would be for her two sons to occupy such an exalted position, where they would be ministered to. The Lord shows her that a greater thins, is to minister.
But perhaps we have prayed for right things, such as the conversion of our children or relatives, and many other matters; and still no answer seems vouchsafed. This leads us to mention another reason why our prayers are unanswered. There may be some fault in ourselves. There was a Christian lady whose husband very much tried her in one particular. Instead of conducting family worship, as she considered he ought, he was in the habit of taking exercise on horseback every morning. This went on for a long time, and had been the subject of many prayers. At length a servant of the Lord had occasion to stay in the house. The wife complained to him, told him how often she had made it a subject of prayer, and said she could not understand why God did not answer her prayers and put her husband right. To her intense surprise she was told that it was she who needed putting right, and that doubtless God would have answered her prayers long ago but for something in herself. Accepting the rebuke, she earnestly set about to discover what it was in her that was hindering her husband; and as the result, she soon had the joy of seeing God working with him and bringing him to be of one mind with herself. This is frequently a reason why our prayers remain unanswered; there is something to set right in ourselves. It is ever in accord with God's mind for us to seek the blessing of others, but He loves us too much to bless others and leave us unblessed; for His way is, "I will bless thee" and then "make thee a blessing." And if blessing is withheld, it is a loud call to us to first of all "search and try our ways," and then "turn again to the LORD." Unanswered prayers are often but a reflection of our own state.
The Apostle James gives us another reason why we do not get what we ask for; he says, "Ye ask amiss." "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (pleasures). How searching this is! With all our asking and all our seeming devotedness, we are after all seeking only our own pleasure! If God were to answer our prayers, we should only use the answer to plume ourselves. Is it any wonder we have many unanswered prayers? It may be the answers will not be long delayed if we are willing for God to have all the glory.
Another reason is that we may be withholding from God, or even from others, what is their due. This undoubtedly is a very frequent cause of our prayers meeting with no response. For example, in Mark 11:24-2624Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 25And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. (Mark 11:24‑26) we find the Lord, in speaking about answers to prayer, connects the thought of forgiveness with it. "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying forgive." Are any of us cherishing an unforgiving spirit? It will prove a great hindrance to our prayers being answered. And the same thing will probably happen if we keep for ourselves what should be given to God. There is no man so poor as the man who is always saving. It is well to remember the words of the wise king: "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." And while it is always true that God in His grace deals with us far above what we deserve, yet in government He deals with us very much as we deal with Him and with one another, "With the merciful Thou wilt show Thyself merciful; with an upright man Thou wilt show Thyself upright; with the pure Thou wilt show Thyself pure; and with the froward Thou wilt show Thyself froward." Psalm 18:25, 2625With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright; 26With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt show thyself froward. (Psalm 18:25‑26).
Our prayers sometimes remain unanswered because we ask unintelligently. This is particularly the case in regard to spiritual matters. In the spiritual world, as well as in the natural, there are certain laws and processess; and if we run counter to these we cannot reach the end we desire. For want of knowing this, or remembering it, many have been seeking for years what may seem as far away from them as ever. You may have prayed for a certain blessing many times, and yet the request has not been granted. If the truth were known, it is probable that this matter which is now so great a mystery could easily be explained. These prayers were in the wrong form, or you are looking entirely in the wrong direction.
The case of the Syrophenician woman illustrates this very thing. She comes to the Lord in her deep need about her daughter, and says, "Have mercy on me, 0 Lord, Thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." "But He answered her not a word." Now this was not coldness on the part of the Lord toward her, any more than it is toward you because He may have not answered your prayer. This woman had prepared her request on entirely wrong grounds. The Lord did not send her away, as He does not send you away; but He has something to teach you, perhaps, before He can grant your request, as He had her. She addressed Him as Son of David, a title which gave a Gentile no claim whatever. The Lord could not consistently respond when thus addressed; to have done so would have ignored the distinction God Himself had made. But when she addressed Him simply as Lord, He could listen to her. He is Lord of all. And when, further, she casts herself entirely upon His goodness and mercy, asserting no claim. He cannot refuse her. "0 woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt."
May not we, in regard to other matters, be making the same mistake, in principle, as this woman? Take, for instance, the question of the forgiveness of sins. Are there not many earnest, devout people in the world who are praying for forgiveness, and have been doing so for years, and who, if they were asked today if they are forgiven, would sadly shake their heads and say, No; or at best, they have nothing more than a doubtful hope. We are not dealing now with confession of sin in prayer, when a sinner first comes to Christ, or afterward when he has failed; but we are dealing with those, and there are many, who are continually asking for pardon, and ignoring the fact that God is ready and willing to forgive, and overlooking the ground on which He can righteously do so.
If I am continually asking a person for something that person is offering me, and I overlook the offer, is it any wonder if I miss getting what I want? This is just what thousands of people are doing in regard to forgiveness of sins. They think that forgiveness is to be had by asking, whereas it is to be obtained by TAKING; they think it is to be obtained by prayers and sighs and tears, or religious observances, whereas it is to be obtained by FAITH. They plead with God about it, and do not see it is something God offers them. "Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe [not ask] are justified from all things." And what mean the words of our Lord Jesus Christ when He rose from the dead-"Thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem"? (Luke 24,:4b,47). The weary, sin-stricken soul needs to learn that God can never forgive on the ground of asking, but on the ground that Christ has once suffered for sins, and through faith in Him.
Perhaps others have prayed for more faith. This is a common delusion as if some day they would become suddenly conscious of a great increase of that commodity. It cannot be too clearly stated that God does not work in this way. He does not deal out faith to us in bulk. It would be harmful, rather than helpful, if He did. Faith, like money, is increased by circulation; or, like seed, it grows and gathers strength as our physical frame does by exercise. When the disciples on one occasion said, "Lord, Increase our faith," the Lord Jesus in His reply laid down a fundamental principle which holds good for all time, and which we do well to ponder. He shows it is not the quantity of faith, but just exercising what we have; and He mentions one of the smallest things, and tells them what they would accomplish with just so much faith. "If ye had faith," He said, "as a grain of mustard seed."
There are two reasons. A grain of mustard seed is very small in itself, but under certain conditions of soil and atmosphere and sun there is within it possibilities of development. So with faith. And then the least faith brings in all the resources of God. It is not then by asking for more faith that it increases, but, given certain conditions, it will grow as surely as a grain of mustard seed. In Paul's second epistle to the Thessalonians he says, "Your faith groweth exceedingly." How is this accounted for? By what he is able to say about them in his first epistle. He speaks of their "work of faith." Faith was in exercise, and consequently it grew exceedingly. (Compare 1 Thess. 1:33Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; (1 Thessalonians 1:3) and 2 Thess. 1:33We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; (2 Thessalonians 1:3).) Had they been blindly asking for more faith instead of seeing the divine principle that governs the whole matter, their faith would rather have diminished than increased.
In the same way, how often have we prayed to God for more patience. But God does not deal out patience, any more than faith, in lumps. And the sooner we learn that patience can only become ours by a certain process, the better. It is an immense gain when we see that faith and patience and such like qualities are not given at random or arbitrarily, but stand in the relation of cause and effect. They do not become ours by asking, but by a principle as unerring as the law of gravitation. How then do we become patient? There is one simple answer. By the knowledge of God. In support of this assertion we can only just refer the reader to Col. 1:10, 1110That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; (Colossians 1:10‑11). By increasing in (or by) the knowledge of God we are "strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness."
Do we underrate prayer in this way? No; but we learn to pray for the right thing, and also to seek it in the right way. We learn that the real thing we need is the knowledge of God. We are impatient because we know Him so little; and if we only seek to deal with the impatience, we are not going to the root of the disease, but dealing only with a symptom. No medical man would act in this way with regard to the diseases of the body, nor must we with that which is infinitely higher and more complicated, the diseases of the soul. Let us pray that God would make Himself known, and seek to know Him by studying His Word; and patience will come.
It is not otherwise with regard to rest. How often we are weary and burdened! Perhaps we have often sought rest by simply praying for it. There is One who offers it to us, and tells us how we may find it. We can only have it on the same principle on which He had it; that is, entire submission to the will of God. What God had ordered, He knew was best for Him; and He rested there. And so when He offers rest to us He says, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." "Meek and lowly in heart"-here is the secret of all rest.
If the reader will carefully weigh what has been said, he may discover the reason of many an unanswered prayer. While we are privileged at all times to make our requests known to God, yet the one condition of our prayers being answered is asking "according to His will" (1 John 5:19, 1519And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. (1 John 5:19)
15And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (1 John 5:15)). Of course we may have asked according to His will, and the time may not have come for the answer. God often delays the answer. Prayer was made continually by the church for Peter, but it was only a few hours before the execution was to take place that he was liberated. But while this is true, yet our prayers are often unanswered for the reasons already given. We have been asking for something that would not be good for us, or we have asked amiss, or at random, and overlooked the real thing to be asked for- not patience, but the knowledge of God; not rest, but to be meek and lowly in heart. If we grasp these principles, many of our prayers may yet be answered.