Do you ever feel like God doesn’t answer your prayers?

Do you ever feel like God doesn’t answer your prayers?

Maybe you’ve prayed for a loved one who’s sick to get better.  Maybe you’ve prayed for a straying child to come back to their senses.  Maybe you’ve prayed for God to send you someone who could one day be your spouse.  But instead, your loved one died, your straying child continued down a dangerous path, and your wedding day seemed further away than ever.

You’re tempted to say, “I feel like God hasn’t answered my prayers.”  But the key word in that sentence is the word, “feel.”

Feelings don’t stay the same.  Feelings aren’t solid.  They normally change several times…and that’s just in one day.  Why would anyone ever consider their feelings to be a reliable source of sturdy truth?  Truth doesn’t arrive because of the way you feel about God.  Truth arrives because of what God has said about you in His Word.

And what has God said in His Word about how he answers the prayers of the one who believes, “I am a sinner, and Jesus is my Savior?”

Check out Psalm 91:15.  The LORD says, “He will call upon me, and I will answer him.”  Every time.  Without fail.  The LORD says, “I will be with him in trouble.”  Every time.  Without fail.   The LORD says, “I will deliver him and honor him.”  Every time.  Without fail.

One time, someone asked Martin Luther, “Dr. Luther, do you feel forgiven?”  His answer might surprise you.  He said, “No, I do not feel forgiven.  Actually, I feel terrible because of my sins.  And yet I know I’m forgiven, because in God’s Word he says that I am forgiven.  And,” Luther continued, “God never lies.”

The next time you’re debating internally whether God answered your prayer or not, or whether he has forgiven you or not, rest in what God has already said.  His Word trumps any feelings.

¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.      – Psalm 91:15

Prayer:  Dear Lord, take away my love to trust in what I feel ahead of what you’ve said.  Lead me to rejoice that you always answer my prayers, you are always with me in trouble, you will always deliver me and you will always honor me as someone special to you.  Amen.