Did God Answer My Prayer?

“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7 KJV). 

For many of us, we have been trying to seek God within our circumstances. Maybe you feel like God has cast you aside because what you are believing God to deliver on has not come to pass. Trust this - God would never cast you aside. He cares and He wants to give His children the desires of their hearts. 

Sometimes prayers may not come to pass because of unbelief buried in our hearts and our inability to be expectant in the power of God. But, what If you have prayed in faith and yet it feels as though God has not delivered? I implore you to take heart and hold onto your faith.

I think it’s time we challenge the idea of the unanswered prayer that has become such an accepted norm. Sometimes I wonder if to accept that there are prayers that go unanswered is to believe that God is ignorant - this is not the character of God. For every door that is knocked, God will always open. 

The Request of James and John 

In our eyes prayers may not come to pass, not because we didn’t believe enough and didn’t remain expectant but because we don’t know what we were asking - Mark 10: 35-37:

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we want you to do whatever we ask’

‘What do you want me to do for you?’ he asked. 

They replied, ‘Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.’ 

‘You don’t know what you are asking’ Jesus said. ‘Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptised with the baptism I am baptised with?’ 

Sometimes what we pray for does not align with God’s will for our lives - it’s so easy for all of us to do - including me. Like James and John, when we pray, we can innocently ask for part of God’s glory, not knowing that what we are asking glorifies our name and not God’s name. 

Unanswered prayer or an answered prayer?

Maybe the prayer you thought was left unanswered was actually answered (See Romans 8:26-28)  

There are times when we pray and ask for things from God that do not align with God’s will for our lives. The Holy Spirit abiding in us, knows that we don’t know what we are asking , helps us, guides us and intercedes on our behalf.

Preparing Your Heart 

We pray in The Lord’s Prayer ”Let your will be done on Earth as it in Heaven” but when we go to commune with God have we prepared our hearts to be in agreement with the will of the Father? 

When we pray we have the honour to partner with God and be a part of His Divine order. When we go into prayer we ought to prepare our hearts and determine whether what we are praying for aligns with God’s will for our lives.

Whilst God desires to give you the desires of your heart, a question for you to hold onto is whether that desire is what God wants for you.

Yes, God did answer your prayer.

God heard that knock, that cry, that wail and God answered. Maybe it wasn’t the answer you were looking for; maybe it wasn’t what you were praying for but He answered and he always will - that unanswered prayer is actually an answered prayer and a testament to how caring God is. Always having our best interests at heart even when we don’t know it.