If I Don't Get An Answer To My Prayer Is God Really Listening?

 If I Don't Get An Answer To My Prayer Is God Really Listening?

When Jesus was teaching His friends about prayer He said this: 

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8

We run in many places and expend all kinds of energy to try to find the answers, the healing, and the resources we need.  God wants us to bring our lives to Him to receive all that we need to live well today from Him. 

Lots of people have taken the sentence above about prayer “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for” and asked for things they thought were right for them at that time.  When what they hoped for didn't come, they began to question God about His power and His ability and willingness to help them. 

Every day of our lives God wants to bless us.  God wants to protect us.  God is willing to lead us and guide us, so we make good choices and desire what is best for us and the plan He has for our lives. 

He knows the true needs of our hearts and will often not give us what we think we need when it is a more superficial distraction or simply the wrong solution.  God will give us the true answer to our need and He’ll do it in the right way. 

"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” 

Isaiah 55:8-9

When it seems like God isn't answering our prayers it's time to go a little deeper and ask God for understanding about what's going on.  Maybe the timing is not right for God to give us what we think we need.  Maybe God has a better plan than what we have figured out at this point in our journey.  The foundation for all our prayers is the truth that God is good, that God is listening, and that God has and will give us what He knows we need today. 

Heavenly Father, You’ve told us that if we will seek Your kingdom above all else and live righteously that You will give us everything we need.  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Matthew 6:33

Help us, above all else,  to seek You and Your plan for our lives.  When we don’t see what we thought was the answer to our prayer, help us to trust You and keep bringing our needs before You until our hearts are truly satisfied.  Amen

It's not easy to trust God when His way and His answer are different than the answer we thought was right for our need.  I can give you a long list of arguments I’ve had with God over the years.  But, I also now have decades of experience proving that God knows better than I do and I do well to trust Him to give me what I really need.  Let’s all give God that opportunity today, shall we?