Can you remember the first time God answered a prayer of yours? Remember the awesome feeling of exhilaration that the God of the universe would take time out of His busy schedule to pay attention to little ol' you and your little ol' petition? You thought to yourself, "Wow! It really works!"
It's not hard to be a Christian when God does what you want Him to do. But what about when He doesn't?
Even some of the great figures of the Bible had a hard time with that. John the Baptist proclaimed that Jesus was "the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world" when things were going well for him. But when John found himself in prison, no doubt praying for God to get him out of this mess, and didn't get an answer, he wondered if he'd been mistaken. He sent people to Jesus, asking, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?"
Even as Jesus reassured John, He didn't "miracle" him out of prison. Instead, not long after, John was beheaded on the whims of women taking advantage of a drunken king. Not exactly the answer he was looking for.
We may not face the prospect of losing our lives, but we could lose our faith if we don't know how to handle it. Craig Groeschel starts off our growth plan with a sober message in which he dealt with a real-life situation that challenged him to speak to what happens "When God Doesn't Answer."
"Why Didn't God Answer My Prayer?" by Craig Groeschel
PRAY
Father in Heaven, Whose Name is praised above all, we thank You that we have your promise to never leave us nor forsake us. We can't see You, any more than we can see the wind, but Your Word tells us that Your silence should not be interpreted as Your absence. You said Moses persevered because he could see Him Who was invisible. Help us to see you by faith when You are invisible and to hear You when You are inaudible. In Jesus Name ...
REFLECT
"Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him ... " — Job 13:15
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." — Proverbs 3:5-6
RESPOND
The temptation when God doesn't answer the way we want Him to is to withdraw from prayer. Why waste the time, right? Pastor Rick Warren follows with an encouraging word as to why that's a temptation we should resist.
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