Unanswered Prayers

Finding hope when we're facing unanswered prayers is one of our greatest spiritual challenges. 

God's no doesn't mean he's rejecting us.

God's silence doesn't mean he isn't listening or disappointed in us.

Ultimately, it can pave a path to deeper trust.

Let's talk about:

• Wrestling with feelings of abandonment when prayers seem unanswered

• Understanding that God's vision extends beyond our limited perspective

• Remembering that God's goodness isn't dependent on Him giving us what we want

• Finding growth in the waiting and silence

• Bringing honest questions and pain to God, knowing He can handle them

God's goodness isn't just what He does—it's who He is

Please, share this with someone who might need the encouragement and reassurance that God isn't mad at them, and certainly hasn't abandoned them. 

For more encouragement, you are always welcome to listen to WPER, Virginia's home for encouragement. If you're outside the listening area, listen at wper.org, or visit to download the WPER app.

Let us know what you think - send us a text here!!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Well, we're so glad you decided to listen to your
encouraging five-minute podcast.
My name's Eric, this is HeatherHi, and we are here to
encourage you over the next fiveminutes to inspire you in some
way to lift your day.
If you need more encouragementat the end of the five minutes
you can always listen again, oryou can listen to your
encouraging WPER.

(00:22):
That's Virginia's home forencouragement.
If you're outside that area,you can download the app.
Just search apps.
Wper is what you're looking for.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
So if you've ever prayed or maybe even pleaded
with God, only to be met withsilence or, maybe worse, an
answer you didn't want.
Eric and I are awfully gladyou're here, yeah maybe that's
where you are right now.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Maybe you've been asking God for healing, for
reconciliation, for abreakthrough, and the heavens
just feel closed.
Well, if that's, you take adeep breath and know that you
are not alone.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
And let's start with something painfully honest.
God doesn't always answer ourprayers the way we hope, and
when he doesn't, that can shakeus?

Speaker 1 (01:03):
Yeah, it can, and that can lead us to think of
things like you know does Godreally care?
Did I do something wrong?
That's usually my go-to.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
What did I do wrong?
What did I do?

Speaker 1 (01:11):
And is God?
Is he still good?

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Well, I mean, these are very real, very really human
questions.
But today we want to sit withyou in that space, if that's
where you are.
We do not want to rush pastthat pain and we certainly don't
want to fling Bible scripturesand quotes at it and just move
on.
We want to remind you ofsomething true.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
God's goodness is not dependent on him giving us what
we want.
We know, I know that's not easyto hear, especially when you've
been praying for something thatfeels right or maybe is even
necessary.
Yeah, Like when we're prayingfor the life for something that
feels right or maybe is evennecessary.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Yeah, like when we're praying for the life of someone
that we love, or maybe for adoor to open that feels like it
should open.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, but here's the mystery of God that we, you know
as humans, forget His ways arehigher than ours, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
And his vision stretches far beyond what we can
see.
God sees the full picture.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
He does.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
And sometimes, when we feel like it's a no from God,
it's actually a deeper, wiseryes to something we're not able
to even understand or maybe evensee just yet.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Yet Key word.
Yet there's a passage in Isaiah55 that says my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither areyour ways my ways, declares the
Lord.
As the heavens are higher thanthe earth, so are my ways higher
than your ways and my thoughtsthan your thoughts.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Okay, to be honest, even to me sometimes that can
feel like a really frustratinganswer, because as humans, we
want clarity, we want answers,but God invites us into
something better than clarity oranswers.
He invites us to trust.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
And that's easy to trust God when the answer is yes
or the answer we want.
But real faith grows in thewaiting and the silence in those
places where we wrestle withdisappointment and yet choose to
believe that God is still good.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
So think about this.
Even Jesus, the son of God, hewas crying and he was praying
for something that he wanted,and it seemed like a logical
prayer in that position, Father,if there's any other way,
please let this cup pass from me.
But then, realizing that God'sgot it all planned out, jesus
said yet not my will, but yoursbe done.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
That's such a beautiful picture of surrender.
Jesus knew pain was coming.
He also knew the Father's willwas ultimately for good, not
just for him, but for you and mefor redemption.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
So when God doesn't answer our prayer the way we
want him to, it doesn't meanthat he doesn't like us or that
he has abandoned us.
It means he's doing somethingthat we don't yet understand,
something better, somethingdeeper.
Now, that can be hard, believeme, eric and I both know, but it
takes trust in the face ofdisappointment, trust that the

(04:03):
no or the not yet is actuallyprotecting you from something
you can't even see, or somethingyou don't even know yet.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
And maybe he's positioning you for something
incredible.
You know, think about it.
Maybe this is leading to growthor to freedom that you wouldn't
have developed any other way,because we're just not able to
see the big picture from ourperspective.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
Now look, even if you don't see the purpose yet, or
maybe even if that pain is stillraw.
Remember this, whisper thistruth to your heart God is still
good, he is still kind, hestill sees you and he's still
working, even in the silence andthe disappointment.

Speaker 1 (04:43):
If you're carrying disappointment, if you're
grieving a prayer that hasn'tbeen answered the way you hoped,
bring it to him.
He can handle your questions,he can hold your pain.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yeah, and then, while we wait for answers, we could
all rest in the truth that hislove never fails.
God's goodness isn't justsomething he does.
That's who he is.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
We thank you for spending these few minutes with
us.
If this has encouraged you,sure it was someone who might
need it today.
If you need more encouragement,Virginia's home for
encouragement, Again, that'sWPER.
If you're outside thatlistening area, you can always
download the app.
Just search WPER.