Prayer is the very essence of communion 1 with God. In prayer, the soul and spirit of man hold converse with God, who is a Spirit. It holds a high place in the Christian life. Our Lord prayed, and taught His disciples to pray. So marked a feature was it of the early Christians that Jews and Romans spoke of them as, "They who call upon the name of Jesus."
Let us look at one phase of this important theme, viz., unanswered prayer. How are we to reconcile with this Christian belief and teaching, the number of prayers that are continually offered, and from all that we can see are offered in vain ? The cry goes up, but the Father's ears seem closed, as though He did not hear. How many Christians are presenting petitions for some personal object, for which they plead, and their plea is not granted.
A partial solution is to be found in this :men forget that prayer is more than a privilege; there is a law connected with prayer. Just as God has instituted certain laws by which He operates in the realm of nature, so certain laws operate in His spiritual kingdom. And as in nature definite results are dependent upon the observance of certain divinely established laws, even so in the realm of grace God has ordained that certain results can be produced alone by the observance of certain laws or conditions. And as a scientist who would disregard natural laws would fail in his experiments, so if we disregard the spiritual laws conditioning prayer, we cannot expect to have it answered.
What are some of these mistakes, errors and misapprehensions which largely account for what are called unanswered prayers ? One cause is the selfishness of too many prayers. Prayer was never meant to be all petition, all asking, all seeking, all getting. In fact, the spirit of prayer should be one of happy dependence and of gratitude. Our hearts should move us, with prayer, to give glory to God, praise Him for His perfections, and give thanks for His loving-kindnesses, and recount His beneficent providences. But where men think only of themselves, of something they want, prayer is radically defective. And this selfishness is shown, too, in asking only for material things. Reverently we may say that God does not like a beggarly attitude in a seeking of earthly gifts.
True prayer is a longing for divine communion. It is the soul in its better hours, in its loftier moods, pouring forth its most ardent love, in deepest and humblest penitence, in highest hopes and aspirations, to the ear of our divine Friend. As some pupil looks admiringly into the face of his noble teacher, or as some child approaches an affectionate father or mother, so our spirit addresses its deepest thoughts and feelings to Him who is kinder than the kindest, nobler than the noblest, friendlier than the friendliest.
Love is the true motive-spring of prayer. As Coleridge's lines run:
" He prayeth best who loveth best
All things both great and small."
This is true prayer where it is worshipful and spiritual, instead of merely material, and where it is an unselfish pleading for the bodies and souls of others. Such a worshiper will not fail of blessed answer, as he who prays otherwise is most apt to fail.
Another cause of unanswered prayer arises from a misunderstanding as to how God answers prayer. The promise of God is not always that He will answer our petitions by removing particular evils, or by granting specific requests, but that He will give us the grace and strength to meet the emergency and to endure and overcome the trial. This is the meaning of that passage:" But God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it." That is, prayer was not always meant to take away trial or its pain, any more than a sense of duty in waiting upon the sick takes away the danger of infection; but it preserves the strength of the whole spiritual man, so that we can bear the trial without falling into despondency or sin. A sorrow comes upon you. Omit prayer, and you fall out of God's sustaining in the temptation. You get angry, hard of heart, and restless in times of trial, but meet it with prayer, cast your care upon God, claim Him as your Father, submit yourself to what He permits to come upon you, then the embittering effects of pain and sorrow pass away, and a stream of strengthening and softening grace pours into the soul. Were we to go upon our knees with this aim and purpose when in temptation or trouble, there would not be so many complaints of unanswered prayers. Nay, we would find that, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe."
Another cause of ineffectual prayer is falling away from God. Some people pray in times of need, or in straits, when they otherwise do not come to God ; for irreligious people are by no means without occasions when they pray. This was the case with king Saul. "And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by visions, nor by prophets."
Our unanswered prayers are chiefly the fault of our low spiritual state. To live in worldliness, in religious apathy and sin, and then seek an audience with God, is well-nigh akin to sacrilege.
The great preacher Spurgeon declared that he had no unanswered prayer. Why ? He lived and worked in the presence of God. He prayed with a child's simplicity, and with a child's unquestioning faith. And such a life and such prayers God could not but hear and honor. To turn away from sin, to overcome evil tempers and to walk with Christ in daily fellowship of spirit, are necessary to have power with God, and avoid ineffectual prayer.
Yet another explanation of unanswered prayer is found in our Lord's reply to Zebedee's wife when she came worshiping Him and desiring a certain great favor of Him for her sons James and John. Truly she had followed Jesus from Galilee, and was to prove her fidelity at the cross and sepulcher. She had given her two sons to Christ. She had faith, devotion, and sacrifice to voice her prayer. But Jesus replied, " You know not what you ask," and explained to the disappointed mother that what she thought honor and glory for her sons meant a… baptism of trial and pain severer than human nature might be able to endure. Aye, how often our prayers are unanswered for this reason, "that we know not what we ask." That thorn which we so pleaded to have taken away is a precious discipline of grace. That joy, that prosperity, that prize, for which our soul so yearns, would prove the very worst thing for us, a hurt to our peace of mind and health of spirit. When the Israelites murmured at the manna, and prayed for flesh, we read, "And God gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls." They knew not what they asked, and their complaining prayer was answered to their hurt, because God would thus show His displeasure. And how often we have asked for things, and felt pained that we did not get them, when God, by withholding the request was saying:" My child, you know not what you ask; but I do, and in love grant not your request to your sorrow and hurt."
Prayer is indeed a precious privilege. For needy sinful men and women to be permitted to come into the presence of the infinitely great and holy God in prayer, to make confession unto Him, to unburden before Him the troubles and cares which weigh heavily upon them, and to present their requests for needed strength, wisdom and guidance, is a privilege that cannot be overestimated.
And to the sincere child of God, let us be assured, there are no unanswered prayers. For either the petition is directly granted, or helping grace is given, which in God's sight is a far richer answer. Let us but ask aright, as directed by the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures, and leave the answer to Him whose Word cannot be broken. Selected.