Unanswered Prayers

Reading: II Cor. 12:9

Do you ever feel like you pray and pray for something, maybe it's a loved one who is sick or a problems you are having, and God never seems to answer that prayer? Perhaps, you then begin to ask "Why, God?" Why does God allow things to happen the way they do? Why do some people, perhaps those labeled as "bad," seem to prosper? Why do others, those who are "good," know only poverty and pain?

It is in the nature of lawyers to look for answers and as law students we begin nurturing that nature from the moment we walk into the classroom. From the moment we read our first case in preparation for that first class we are looking for the answers. We ask ourselves "What questions are professor likely to ask?" then we look for the answers to those imagined questions. As exams draw close we study for hours on end in an attempt to prepare ourselves to find the answer to the exam questions.

God, however, is not always looking to give us the answer. There are somethings he requires us to take on faith. As Christians we live by faith and not by sight. It is that faith that God is looking to instill in us. It's the same faith that God has asked thousands of great Christians before us and will ask of thousands after us. That we only trust Him and that we trust only Him. It is that same faith that God asked of Paul when he said "My grace is sufficient for you."

So, when our prayer for a loved one or ourselves go "unanswered" and we ask ourselves why God is refusing to help perhaps it is better to remind ourselves that "my grace is sufficient for you." It is at this point that God may be seeking to teach us that there is not always an answer and now is the time for us to learn to have faith in Him.

Additional Readings: Job 1-2, Isaiah 55:6-13, I Corinthians 1:18-31
Source: What Does the Lord Require of You? Advocates Int'l 1997. Ed. Lynn R Buzzard. "Cases Not Yet Closed" Alan Button