Why Isn't It Working?

I have heard many Christians say, "I've been praying. I wonder why it isn't working." An atheist would scoff, and say it is because there is no one there to hear our prayers. But how is the believer to respond?

If we buy into what some churches are teaching, we might conclude that God's greatest desire for us is our happiness. There are many professing Christians today who believe God doesn't want us to suffer hardship or want. They believe that God will remove every obstacle from their path so they can march to heaven on an easy path. Within this kind of thinking, unanswered prayer leaves the believer confused.

However, the Bible teaches a different way of understanding. We are promised tribulation in this world. The rest we yearn for is still yet to come, so we plod along relying on our Lord. God's great desire for believers is their holiness, not their happiness. Hardships teach us perseverance, and perseverance, when we have learned it well, produces faith.

It doesn't take much to make a child (or some adults) happy. You just have to give them what they want, when they want it. Holiness requires more. To be holy, one must often go against their own nature. They must deny themselves some of their desires. It takes effort, but holiness is what God demands from all people. Once the taste for holiness is required, it brings happiness. But until we do the hard work of waiting, learning, and growing, we will never experience lasting holiness or happiness.

With this backdrop, let us return to the opening question. Why do some prayers go unanswered? Charles Bridges, a pastor in the 1800s, addressed as similar question his book, The Christian Ministry. While his initial question was more concerned with why ministry isn't always as fruitful as one would hope, his answer applies here. He stated,

But why is this promised blessing withheld?--"Even so; Father; for so it seemth good in they sight." Yet we must not slumber in acquiescence without self-inquiry. Do we fervently seek and cherish this influence? Do we actively "stir up the gift of God which is in us?" Above all, does our pulpit set out that full exhibition of our Divine Master, which alone commands this heavenly blessing? The encouragement of prayer and faith are always the same. God is indeed absolutely sovereign in the distribution of his blessing; but by his command to seek, he has pledged himself, that we shall not seek in vain. Having freely promised, he will faithfully perform. Let all means be used in diligence, but in dependence--in self-denial, but in self-renunciation.

So the simple answer to our question is that God doesn't answer because he has chosen to hold back. The reasoning may escape us in the present (and possibly in the future), but we must push forward. When every effort has been made, every motive examined, every sin confessed, yet there is no discernible reason for our lack of success, we must trust in God's sovereign wisdom. He is worthy of our undying trust, even when we don't know what he is doing.