Unanswered Prayers (Our Daily Bread 7 Sept)

[Jesus said], “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” —Luke 7:9

An explanation we often hear for “unanswered” prayers is that we don’t have enough faith. But Jesus said in Luke 17:6 that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can command a mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea and it will obey us. In other words, the effectiveness of our prayers depends not on how much faith we have but on whether we even have faith.

Luke tells of a Roman centurion with “great faith” (7:9). His faith was expressed first as an appeal to Jesus to heal his dying servant. Then it was expressed as an acknowledgment that Jesus could heal his servant anytime, anywhere. The centurion did not ask Jesus to do things his way.

Faith has been described as “trusting God’s heart and trusting God’s power.” Some prayers that seem to go unanswered are simply instances in which God has lovingly overruled our wishes. He knows that what we have asked for is not best. Or it may be that our timing is not His timing, or He has some far greater purpose in mind. Let us remember, even Jesus prayed to His heavenly Father, “Nevertheless not My will, but Yours” (Luke 22:42).

Do we have the centurion’s great faith—a faith that trusts God to do His work, in His way? — C. P. Hia

Let's face the fact. We stumble, we fall, we lose heart, we doubt. Nobody, as Christians, can say that they have never doubted God before in their lives. When faced with trials, we crumble, and fail to look up to the source of hope and strength that is in Him. We are just like Peter whom Jesus called 'oh ye of little faith', who took a step to walk on water, but did not fully trust that God would bring him across the sea, and instead fell in.

God just needs someone with faith as small as a mustard seed to be able to do great and mighty things through him. That's all we need, and all He wants. Faith as small as a mustard seed, which can uproot trees and move mountains. This therefore applies to our prayer life. Do we pray truly believing that God can answer our prayers? What is the use of praying, if deep in our heart, we just think that God will never provide?

Then, one might ask, why then do some of our prayers remain unanswered, even though we have prayed in faith, trusting him to provide. Well, its not that God did not hear them. We should never doubt that God ignores our prayers. For He knows each and every of our thoughts. However, it is just that things are not in His plan or in His time. It is at this point that we should not lose heart, but allow His will to be done in our lives, and have even greater faith that He works all things for good.

Mountain-moving faith? It starts with us. =)

In His love,
Pat