The only prayer God cannot answer is the prayer you do not pray
The answered prayer. That is my message for today.
There have been times where I have faced circumstances that seemed too far gone to change. I’ve actually said to myself “if things are going to get better now it will take a miracle of God.” I was probably feeling helpless, defeated and hopeless.
Often it is feelings like these that keep us from praying as we should. But we should remember, no matter the circumstance we may face, it is never too late to pray. The answer to your prayer is always coming especially when you pray in earnest. The Lord does not have a “to do list” of unanswered prayers.
The book of Daniel, chapter 10:12 scripture says this about Daniel. Then he said to me, “do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.”
Daniel and the people of Israel were in the early years of captivity in Babylon. Daniel had prayed to God for discernment and the insight to understand so that he could help the people through what would be 70 years of captivity. But he didn’t get a response right away.
Daniel could have thought that God was not going to answer his prayer. Scripture says Daniel mourned for three full weeks waiting for a response. At the end of three weeks, the angel Gabriel came to Daniel and delivered that message to him. We may not face 70 years of captivity today, but we have our own Babylon’s.
You must learn to pray no matter how things may look for you. And because it’s never too late to pray, you can be assured that a response is always on the way to you. The scripture says from the moment Daniel set his heart to understand the circumstances and to humble himself before God, his words were heard, and an answer went out.
Daniel wasn’t asking God to free the people sooner. He wasn’t asking God to take revenge on the Babylonians. He wasn’t asking God to return the people to Jerusalem. He was acknowledging before God that he and the people didn’t understand what was ahead of them.
The people felt helpless, hopeless and defeated. Sometimes, things can look so bad to us that we don’t know what to pray for, so we don’t pray at all. But God has an answer for a helpless prayer. He has an answer for a hopeless prayer. And He has an answer for a defeated prayer.
But, you get the answered prayer only if you pray. The only prayer God cannot answer is the prayer you do not pray. We can learn three things from Daniel that will help us in our own lives and in the circumstances we face.
- Pray first and pray last. We must never forget to pray no matter how dire our circumstances may be.
- Look for understanding. Understanding will help you learn to look for a response that may be better than what you are asking. If it is healing you want, God may choose to give you the strength to live and to serve with a sickness in a way that heals others.
- Humble yourself. Learn to go to the Lord in humility. Hopeless, helpless and defeated feelings do not make the Lord move faster on your behalf. But a humble spirit, strong in hope and steadfast in faith will set your answered prayer into motion.
When you pray and live in this way you can always have access to the answered prayer God has waiting for you. It is never too late for God to move on your situation. Nothing will keep God’s answered prayer from you when you pray in earnest even if you do not know what to pray for.
If you don’t know what to pray for, pray for understanding and discernment and wisdom. God will always respond to those. The Lord loves you, so He has an answered prayer waiting for every prayer of yours. Remember, you do not get answers to prayers you do not pray.
Pray. There is an answered prayer waiting for you.
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