Unanswered Prayer

It happens. We pray for specific healing, and the healing doesn’t come. We pray for distinct favor, and we are met with setbacks and heartache. We pray, but our requests appear to have been overlooked.

I was acutely aware of my unanswered prayer predicament the other day. Of course, all the cute spiritual phrases came to mind; my favorite being “prayer might not change your circumstance but it will change you.” I don’t disagree, which is why I like it. But it also doesn’t feel good when my prayers feel unheard.

I reminded myself of James’ reasons for God’s silence or inaction… perhaps my requests are selfish or outside of God’s will (James 4:3).

While sitting in my turmoil and attempting to calm each nerve, that divine peace started to roll in and over me 🙌 And do you know what He told me?!

When I don’t answer your specific request, I am increasing your faith.

Um. Excuse me? Question here 🙋‍♀️ How about You answer my prayer and that will increase my faith?

*silence*

🤦‍♀️

When God does not respond, what happens to our next prayer?

Does it require us to dig a little deeper, to persevere diligently? Does it allow us to cling all the more tightly to His faithfulness?

We forget that faith is the assurance of things hoped for that are not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

If you are consistently seeing answered prayer, it may take less faith for you to ask for something else. Whereas, me over here, I’m going to be asking with a lot more faith given the lengthy list of requests I’ve been denied.

But have I really been denied anything?

Through each prayerful experience, He is faithful. Even if His answer is “no” or silence, we have indeed received an answer. Our hope and joy rests in God Himself, not in the tallying of what we think He should be doing for us.

You Must Be Hearing Things

Even though C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors, I’ve never had the desire to read the seven books that comprise The Chronicles of Narnia. But I acquired this 3-inch book for free, and what a waste to not open its pages. I have already finished the first book in the series, The Magician’s Nephew. Not surprisingly, no regrets having read it – I would recommend it to others 🤓

There was a particular scene that stuck out to me and – by God’s irony, humor or grace – He used my pastor’s Sunday sermon to reinforce a point that C.S. Lewis was trying to make.

In John 12:27-29, Jesus Christ is speaking to God the Father. God responds with a voice from heaven, but we read “the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”” A great question to then ask ourselves: Do we also try to explain away the things of God?

Flipping over to chapter 10 in The Magician’s Nephew, we see the founding of Narnia from Uncle Andrew’s point of view.

For what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing: it also depends on what sort of person you are.

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The small group of characters from our world could hear Narnia’s animals speaking, but poor Uncle Andrew could not. Unable to accept that the powerful and majestic lion could sing, he convinced himself it wasn’t happening.

Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed.

Page 75

The lion’s musical notes eventually turned into snarls and growls in Uncle Andrew’s ears.

So, again, do we try to explain away the things of God?

Let us be children who listen to our Father. Enjoying His notes of heavenly glory 🎶 Not reducing them to what the world pretends to hear.

Excitement for Exodus

The second book in the Bible isn’t typically my go-to read. I don’t feel my heart stir with wisdom (Ex 35:26) after reading about the wanderings in the wilderness.

I know I’m not alone 😉 Most Christians haven’t spent much time in the OT, especially when NT epistles are quicker and easier to read. And, we are living in the culture of quick and easy!

Having recently finished reading Exodus (it only took me three months 😅), I felt something different. I assume it’s because it took me so long to read. I wasn’t trying to follow a plan, read a chapter a day or get it over with to move on to the next book. I was going slooowww 🐌

Moses writes an unfolding introduction of God Himself. We meet Provider/Jirah (1:21), Sees/Roi (2:25), I AM/Yahweh (3:14), Banner/Nissi (17:15), Jealous/Qanna (20:5; 34;14), Gracious/Channun (22:27), Consuming Fire/Akal Esh (24:17) and Sanctifies/Mekkodishkem (31:13).

Moses records God giving His people a little introduction as well: warriors in His army and members of His family (7:4). We see a beautiful blend of this in 17:12. Because Moses had Aaron and Hur supporting his raised arms to God, Joshua wins the battle against Amalek. This parallels nicely with our need for spiritual family and fellowship.

We learn a lot about the Israelites and the cycles we ourselves are inclined to repeat: cry to God -> saved by God -> complain about God -> punished by God -> and again. Anyone see that in their own life? 🙋‍♀️

Not surprisingly, we also learn how to break the cycle: “stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD” (14:13). Don’t continue in your unfaithfulness. Stand still. Wait. Then go forward on His promises (14:15).

I don’t know if we’ll ever experience our faces shining like Moses’ (34:29) here on earth, but we should shine with confidence and boldness as the LORD fights for us (14:14).

As I lingered in Exodus, I could feel my heart stirring (35:21). Stirring to obey (39:42), to be holy (22:31) and to be able (18:21).

Maybe Exodus can bring excitement if we’re willing to wander in the wilderness of this otherworldly wisdom.

Exodus 39:42

The Gift

Lord of lords and King of kings! We serve not just the greatest God, but the one true God.

Last Christmas season, it was pretty irritating hearing my kids talk about Santa and all the gifts they were expecting to receive. I couldn’t take it anymore and ripped off the bandaid.

“Santa isn’t real,” I told my oldest son. Tears formed in his eyes as I explained the story of Saint Nicholas, the real person. I was relieved to have explained the true meaning of Christmas … and he was relieved to know he could still expect gifts 🤦‍♀️

Sometimes we need to remove our own bandaids, the things that dull our senses. For me, this is often technology – the TV and phone can desensitize me and affect my ability to quickly discern right from wrong. At Christmas, it seems the world shoves shopping deals in our faces to put a huge bandaid over the Reason we are even celebrating.

This should be a joyous time, remembering the birth of our Savior (even if you didn’t score a great deal on that 85″ Westinghouse 😉).

Jesus is the Gift of gifts, just as He is God of gods.

Speech Class

Sometimes it feels like we need a course on Biblical Language Arts. This course would provide a brief overview on:

• How to properly express anger
• How to lovingly disagree
• How to pray effectively
• Bonus: tips & tricks to memorizing big theological words (e.g. eschatology, pneumatology, etc.)

A Christian Talk 101 class might be a good foundation to then walk the talk of Christianity🚶‍♀️

Words can be powerful, even when words aren’t spoken directly to someone.

It’s easy to mutter “screw you” under your breath and think it has no ill effect on you or the other person.

But harsh words out loud or whispered are still harsh words.

The Apostle James gives a metaphor that a spring cannot send both fresh water and bitter from the same opening. Yet, our mouth can both bless God and curse people made in His image. James cries, “this ought not to be so” (James 3:10).

We are to be holy and speak graciously. It should be convicting how we are so inclined to talk like the world.

If we forget how harsh speech can hurt, it is only because we have also forgotten how sweet speech can bless.

To one’s face or behind their back, may we be known to speak words of love and light.

And, maybe invest in a speech class with your local church 😉