Have you ever prayed for a miracle? Did it happen? If not, how did you respond?
We love hearing stories of answered prayers. Craig Keener recounts hundreds of miracles, both ancient and modern, in his two-volume work Miracles. Faith grows between the covers of such books. On the other hand, a two-volume work recounting all the instances God didn’t answer prayers wouldn’t exactly fly off the shelves. We tend to ignore unanswered prayers, not preserve them in our memories. Even if our house is firmly built on the rock of Christ, unanswered prayers can still shake the foundation.
Yet, just as every Christian must be prepared to give a defense for the hope within them (1 Peter 3:15), every Christian must also be prepared to give a defense when hope seems lost. Two verses in the New Testament show us why we need God to say no to our prayers at times.
1. Unanswered Prayers Give Us Something Better
Paul writes in Philippians 4:6–7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Paul assumes Christians will walk through anxiety-inducing trials, and when they do, he encourages them to pour out their hearts to God in prayer. Yet, he doesn’t guarantee that God will give them what they want. In fact, in all of Paul’s prayers for the churches throughout his letters, he rarely prays for their circumstances to change. Instead, he guarantees that God will give them something better: peace that transcends understanding.
Most people would think that different circumstances or greater understanding would alleviate their suffering. To be fair, that makes sense. If the fear of the unknown or a particular circumstance is causing distress, the obvious solution is to attain more understanding of the unknown or to change the circumstance. But God’s ways are not our ways. Instead, God gives us a silver bullet of contentment in any and all situations (Phil. 4:11–13). His choice not to change our circumstances forces us to look to Christ for our peace rather than our circumstances and ultimately that is a deeper rest than this world can give.
To put it poetically:
I bow my head and worries cease Your Spirit speaks unspoken peace The prince of earth must run and hide The King of Heaven now presides
When the Lord of Hosts sees one of his soldiers in danger on the battlefield of life, he doesn’t always call off the attack, but he never fails to cover him in the shadow of his wings that the blows may not pierce his peace.
2. Unanswered Prayers Show the World Our Hope
In 1 Peter 1:6–7 we get a theology of suffering. Peter writes, “though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Peter explains that Christians will endure trials to reveal their faith as genuine and to bring glory to Christ. But how do trials bring more glory to Christ? They do so by solidifying our faith in Jesus and working faith in others that Jesus would be praised rather than rejected on the day he returns. Watching a Christian praise God in suffering reveals God to be more than a genie in a bottle or a superstition. It shows that he alone can satisfy and is worthy of our trust and worship.
Years ago, a doctor was caring for an older woman with a painful and untreatable disease. The woman suffered terribly every day with no medical solution in sight, yet, despite this woman’s trial, her faith in God never wavered. She prayed for healing of course, but when answers never came, her hope remained. The doctor was dumbfounded by her buoyancy in such a storm, and asked her how she could have such hope. The woman explained it was because of her faith in Jesus. Then she asked him point-blank, “Doctor, what do you believe?” He didn’t know what to say. He was so struck by this woman’s hope—and so disturbed by his lack of answers—that he began reading about Christianity and eventually became a Christian.
Christian, your biggest witness might not be how God powerfully answers your prayers, but how you powerfully display the peace of God when he doesn’t.
God hears our prayers and he is mighty to save, but he doesn’t always choose to do so. Hopefully, the next time your prayer goes unanswered, you can bear the trial with joy rather than confusion.