Monday, January 26
Genesis 4:1-7
Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.” Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
This week we have the opportunity to look at Bible stories that illustrate the challenges of unanswered prayer. Everyone who prays eventually confronts this issue as our prayers are not answered a hundred percent of the time.
In looking at today’s story we’re equating unanswered prayer with not having an offering accepted. They are not completely identical, but the spiritual reality is the same.
It’s easy to draw conclusions about Cain about why his offering was not accepted. We might conclude that Cain must have done something wrong or Cain’s offering was shared with an improper attitude. Assigning blame is not helpful. Trying to blame Cain that his prayer was not answered is like blaming each of us for an unanswered prayer.
We’re not told why Cain’s offering was not accepted. To interpret the story, we have to accept this reality. We don’t know why Cain’s offering was not accepted.
However, we do know that Cain’s response to his “unanswered prayer” was completely inappropriate. He became angry—which is a natural human emotion. Most likely all of us have been angry with God because a prayer has not been answered.
God implored Cain to stay connected to God when Cain became angry. But Cain responded in a completely inappropriate way. He murdered his brother.
The way we respond to our own unanswered prayers, will reveal quite a lot about our character. Being angry is a natural response. Responding to that anger with harm is not.
Have you had a time when you were angry about a prayer that was not answered? How did you respond? Please share.
Tuesday, January 27
2 Samuel 12:15-23
Then Nathan went to his house.
The Lord struck the child whom Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became very ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child; David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. The elders of his house stood beside him urging him to rise from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “While the child was still alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us; how then can we tell him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, he perceived that the child was dead, and David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.”
Then David rose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the house of the Lord and worshiped; he then went to his own house, and when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive, but when the child died, you rose and ate food.” He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me, and the child may live.’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
David was passionate about his prayer. Even though he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, David wanted the child who he had conceived with Bathsheba to live. He pleaded with God with all of his strength for the child to live. He fasted, and he lay all night on the ground in prayer.
Can you imagine the intensity of David’s prayer?
The servants of David who were watching David were afraid to tell him that the child had died. They were afraid to share with David that his prayer was unanswered. The people were afraid about how David would respond to his unanswered prayer.
Not all prayers are the same. Praying for direction on what clothes to wear during the day is much different than praying that our child will live when an illness strikes.
The servants of David were surprised that David could let go of his unanswered prayer so easily. But David was quite pragmatic. While the child was alive, he did everything he could to help the child live. But once the child was dead, there was no more reason for David to pray for the child.
David was willing to accept his unanswered prayer. We’re not told from where David had the strength to do this—for who really has the strength to accept the death of a child. But David illustrated that it can be done. And he illustrated a far different response to unanswered prayer than Cain’s response.
What are your thoughts about David’s response? Please share.
Wednesday, January 28
Psalm 13:1-4
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;
my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
The writer of this Psalm—most likely David—felt abandoned by God. He implored God to not keep the divine face hidden, to relieve the pain that he felt in his soul and the sorrow in his heart.
Verse three is a powerful example of the passion of prayer.
“Consider and answer me, O Lord my God! Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death.”
There was a lot at stake in his prayer—literally life or death.
Sometimes when we pray we are too nice to God. We aren’t completely honest with our emotions because we might feel that expressing our emotions with God would not be appropriate.
This is certainly not the case in this Psalm. The writer of the Psalm was candid and honest. Even though he was upset with God, he was willing to share in concrete ways what was happening in his spirit.
He knew that God might not answer his prayers, but to use a gambling metaphor, he put all of his chips on the table.
What are your thoughts about this Psalm? Please share.
Thursday, January 29
Matthew 26:36-40
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not what I want but what you want.” Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour?
Even Jesus experienced unanswered prayer. Which is quite a statement about the humanity of Jesus.
When Jesus found himself in the garden of Gethsemane, he found himself overwhelmed with sorrow. Out of his grief he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.”
The hope that Jesus expressed in this prayer was not answered. Jesus eventually did go to the cross and die. The cup of wrath was not taken from him.
The second part of the prayer of Jesus is helpful. Jesus asked for God’s will to be done. This is a important teaching for us when we share a petitionary prayer. We can pray for something important or extravagant. And we then ask for God’s will to be done.
What are your thoughts on praying this way? Please share.
Friday, January 30
2 Corinthians 12:7b-10
Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated.Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
The Apostle Paul prayed three times that the thorn that was given to him would be removed. And, of course, the “thorn” is a metaphor. Something quite displeasing was given to him. Paul identified this thorn as a messenger of Satan.
It makes sense to think that God would remove this thorn from Paul. For God is opposed to Satan. But the thorn was never removed. Paul’s prayer was not answered.
However, God did give Paul a response to how Paul could go forward in response to his unanswered prayer. God told Paul that “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:8.
This verse is one way to respond to unanswered prayer. God might not answer our prayers, and God always is willing to give us grace. This grace is sufficient for responding to our own unanswered prayers. We might not receive the prayer that we want, but we do receive God’s grace. To God this grace was sufficient.
Have you ever experienced grace after realizing that a prayer of yours would not be answered? Please share.
Saturday, January 31
Luke 18:1-7
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my accuser.’ For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’ ” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?
Jesus was sharing a story about the need of people to pray and not to lose heart in our prayers. Another way to think about this story is an example of what God wants us to do when our prayers are not answered.
A widow wanted justice from a judge; the judge did not give justice. The woman persisted in asking. The woman kept coming to the judge.
Eventually the judge gave in. Not because he believed that the woman’s prayer was justified. He was just worn out by the woman’s persistence.
Jesus was not saying that God becomes worn down by our persistence. He was saying that God admires persistence in prayer and that God does not want us to lose heart when we pray. Don’t lose heart even when our prayers are not answered.
Have you had a time when you felt like not praying anymore after something difficult happened? What eventually happened? Please share.
