He’s There, even in Unanswered Prayer!
In Matthew 28:20 Jesus tells us that He will be with us always, even to the end of the world.
If we take Him at His word, and we should, then we know that He truly is always with us, even when things are dark or perplexing or just plain wrong.
Jesus is always with us.
If you are like me, I think to myself, if He was with us, (since He is the perfect one) wouldn’t my life be perfect?
Ahh – wouldn’t that be nice!
I heard a testimony recently of a woman who had been through great trauma. And the person she was talking to was asking her to remember the pain and ask Jesus to show her where Jesus was at that moment of her pain. She realized that He was right there with her….sustaining her.
Then you think, but why would a loving God allow such trauma, abuse, evil, and ugly things to happen? I understand that, I really do. The answer is this: to truly give mankind FREE will, ALL mankind has to be given free will. We are all born sinners and we all have to make the choice to serve Jesus or Satan. Whether we realize it or not. Even not choosing Jesus is a choice for the enemy. And people who make wrong choices affect those around them!
That gives us life’s circumstances…….
As believers, we have our requests and we pray and we ask the Lord for certain things, and they may be rightful and good, but they may not always come. OR they come far, far down the road. Or yet again, they come in a way we could have never imagined. Why is this?
Well, I will tell you what I think. 😊
As a parent, when your child asks for ice cream every morning at 8 am, are you going to give it to them? No. Why? Because they need to eat a healthy breakfast and have a good start to the day. You, as a parent know what is best and know things your child doesn’t understand yet.
I will give you an example of when I asked for something and was told no. When I was first married, we looked at a house and we wanted it. However, it didn’t work out. We were so bummed! It was nice, it was a desire and a need, and we couldn’t figure it out. However, just a few months down the road, a better house came available that put us on a much better road for our future. We had no way of knowing this, but God, our father, did!
Have you ever went through something that didn’t turn out like you thought it should, and looking back you can see the hand of God guided you? Think about how much you learned! Now, think of all the people you have been able to help withstand similar situations because of your testimony.
Ahh – testimony…..what you are going through may not even be about you. It may be for someone else. Perhaps, the Lord has decided He can trust you with this test because He wants to put people in your path that can learn from it. Hmmmm – think about that for a minute.
God is not a sugar daddy, no, He is a good father! A good father will lead His child into a balanced life, not giving them everything they ask for, but provide for them and show them the way to live a faith filled life.
Here is the thing – because we do have free will, there are people in the world that have not just rejected Jesus, they have embraced the enemy and they don’t fight fair. So there will be trials and tests and if we never have to test our faith, how will we know it works? How will we be strong? David would have never had the confidence to take on Goliath had he not already killed a lion and a bear.
I would much rather go through a test in a controlled environment than to be out there on my own. Controlled? If you are a believer, and totally submitted to Him, NOTHING can come that He does not see! This is why you keep your ear tuned to His voice and you stay in prayer and the word. Stay under His control!
Paul says whether in plenty or lack, (we could say – whether his desires/prayers are answered the way he wants or not)he knows how to be CONTENT…why? Because the Bible says we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us.
How will this happen? By staying in the word, in prayer and in fellowship with Him. We must listen to Him. When things go awry, go to Him. Stay planted. Ask Him where you missed it, or ask Him if it is just not His timing! (Boy is that one a doozy! Our timing is rarely His!)
He has a plan. And in every situation, circumstance and happening, God is right there with you. When the answer is no, He is there. When the diagnosis is grim, He is there. When the time is not now, He is there. When the situation is bleak, He is there. It is in those moments we dig deep and go further into Him. He will never leave us nor forsake us! This is where we learn! This is battle practice! I say practice because with Christ we ALWAYS WIN! Then, we pick up the spoils of war and go and deliver others using the same weapons used against us, but now against our enemy the devil. YES!
So do you have any unanswered prayers….situations that don’t look like it should currently? Glory to God you are being trained for bigger and better things. The good news is, His word will not lie and if you STAND and not back down, you WILL have the things you desire when you pray according to His will and word. (Just always pray HIS will because our will ALWAYS gets us into trouble! Right?)
I see God today. I see Him in the waiting of the last nine months on the sale of my home as I have deepened my faith and learned to trust His timing. I have had to practice being content and choose joy!
I see God, as I pray the prayer of agreement and declare healing in my body. As I declare His healing scriptures and I feel His presence. I am thankful that things are as good as they are and getting better every day! I see God in my finances as I pray for debts to be cancelled and as undue and unfair money situations come to steal from me – I see God for He always provides! ALWAYS! I see God for He is always with me! Look at your situations – where is God….SEE HIM!
Will I receive the answers I want to my prayers? Yes, I believe so. I believe it so much, that twenty years from now, if something hasn’t manifested I will still be believing and trusting. Hebrews said there were some that died in the promise, believing. Yes, that is how it is supposed to work. We should always be believing, standing in faith for something. He’s a good, good God.
When we get to heaven, there will not be one person there who hasn’t had to go through something – the Bible gives us plenty of examples of that.
Jesus Himself went through the ultimate test and His father had to look away for a moment, but because Jesus bore that as well – we do not have to. God is with us. He will never leave. He’s right there….even in your unanswered prayers!
Check out this song by Rita Springer- Our God is With Us
- Date - January 19, 2019
- Author - David Chisholm
