Why God Didn't Hear My Prayer To Help Me?
Question: I have a doubt which I thought of asking you. Daily I commute in train, the station I get in to train is bit low and I struggle daily, one day I slipped and I escaped with minor injuries. So from that day on almost every day I pray before getting into train saying, Lord I should not stumble and be with me, but today again my slipper fell down and somehow a guy helped me taking it. So I really don't understand why God didn't help even though I prayed. This question is really troubling me and taking toll on my faith.
Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name!
I know how hard it is to commute daily in our generation everywhere we are, especially in the cities which have become so crowded beyond its capacity to bear and the slowness of the local government to take up the issues which causes great inconvenience and danger to the commuters.
If we want a change, together we must spread the need for change among all those who are in need and get together as one voice to petition the required person in the railways or to the local politician who is in charge of the administrative control to take up the matter and get it solved.
If the station platform is low, and you have to climb up the step in to the train regularly, take the help of a friend who comes along with you to get in to the train or you altogether avoid it if you are not comfortable with that and instead take other means of transportation if required. Safety is the most important thing for all daily commuters. You could go by bus, or avail your company vans which could drop you to your place safely. We should be always be willing to choose what is safe over what is economical or easy to commute.
In a particular incident from the New Testament, when Paul the apostle and his team wanted to go to Asia to preach the Gospel, the Holy Spirit forbade them not to go to Asia (Acts 16:6), and again when they went to Mysia and tried to enter Bithynia which is another place near it, the Spirit of God did not allow him to go to that place further (Acts 16:7). Again when they passed through Mysia and moved on to another place called Troas, God guided Paul so clearly further through a vision to go to Macedonia.
We do not know for what exact reason the Holy Spirit forbade apostle Paul to go to certain place and further also did not allow them to go to certain other places, and instead further guided them to specific other place to do his work of preaching the Gospel and teaching the Word of God to them. These may be the reasons, because Satan might have planned something for them in those places to destroy them if they will not be in the will of God, those places would not have been ready to hear the Gospel as the heart of people need to be prepared by the Holy Spirit before they could get saved, or else the Holy Spirit might have felt a greater need for the people in Macedonia to hear the Gospel than in other places because they were thirsty and hungry for righteousness (Acts 26:9-10; Matt 5:6).
What I like to point out from the above is, God always hears our prayers without fail when we are the child of God who have believed in Christ Jesus (John 1:12-13). Delays in the tangible answer of God does not mean denials from God for our prayers (Dan 10:12), as the answer from God can be a yes, no or later. When we pray for protection and God says yes, nothing further will happen to us and we will be in complete protection by the hand of the Lord. When we pray for protection and God says no, it means God wants us to change our way and want to get in to His will and way so that we might be protected from both physical and spiritual harm which is more important to God and to people around us who watch our life as we profess to be a Christian to see whether we are different or live in the same way just like them (Matt 10:28-31). When God says later, we may face trials within God's sovereign protective hand for our own good, yet not beyond our strength to handle the trial through continual prayer and thus receiving God's grace to overcome our trials (Rom 8:28; 1 Cor 10:13; 2 Cor 12:7-10), where God is testing our obedience and want to know whether we will believe His promises and want to be guided by His voice to take heed to him rather than move forward by our impulsive own self with our own knowledge like a worldly person (1 Cor 10:6; Heb 12:25; Jam 1:22-25).
So in your case, I see that you are praying and going daily to your work place which is a very good thing, but have you sought God what He wants to say to you through it all after your prayers are over? You must be more interested in hearing what God wants to speak to you after your prayer, more than what you want to convey to him through prayer (Eccl 5:1). Prayer is not an opportunity for us to inform God of what is happening as though He doesn't know it all and instruct him what he should do to solve all the problems we face in the ways we expect him to act, nope, God knows all of our problems we face and have faced in the past and even what we will be facing even before we tell him (Matt 6:8). Instead God wants us to pray to him, so that we may be aligned to do His will, in His way, till His time comes so that we may see eternal victories through whatever life brings our way to fulfill God's purpose for our lives and live for His Glory (Matt 6:9-13, 14-15; 6:34; John 7:1, 30; Luke 4:12-13).
God has promised in His word that, "He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber" (Psa 121:3), and again He has promised safety for obedience saying, "11 I will guide you in the way of wisdom; I will lead you on straight paths. 12 When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; when you run, you will not stumble." (Prov 4:11-12), and further again He has promised, "Keep sound wisdom and discretion... Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble. 25 Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; 26 For the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught." (Prov 3:21, 23, 25-26).
So we glean from the above promises that God is not asleep when you stumble, the enemy may be at work (John 10:10), you might have been careless or fearful because of what has already happened to you previously (Josh 1:9). Thus you need to operate in faith all the time by hearing the voice of God in the present time of your need (Rom 10:17). Also it is more important to use "sound wisdom and discretion" in our lives and not blame God as though he has failed us.
For example, if you have slipped before getting in to the train in the past, use some good gloves to keep your hand dry and steady to hold on to the handle to get in to the train. Sweaty hands and feet are many times reason for falling down from trains and buses. For some this trouble is less and for others who burn well and have good metabolism they sweat a lot and face more problems in these areas during their daily commute. When again you said, "slipper fell down and somehow a guy helped me taking it", you can better use some good shoes with better grip that will not come off you feet. Above all, as I said, hear what God is saying to you personally through his word and with his voice in your heart about all these situations that you are facing, and take heed to the voice of the Lord and take corrective measures if you are hearing a No or Later from God. God and His Word will never ever fail (Matt 24:35). All the time it is we who fail God by failing to trust His promises (Mark 6:6; 1 Thes 2:13).
Do you know how many slip from the train to die daily without help even when people are present around them? Do you not realize that the first time when you fell, you slipped and yet you escaped with minor injuries because God had held you with His very own hand (Isa 41:10)? Again when you say 'my slipper fell down and somehow a guy helped me taking it', you do not yet notice that it is not 'somehow', but God used an angel in that guy who helped you taking the slipper and stay safe (Isa 28:26)? God does things for us always and hides himself to know whether we are seeking for the One who does all things for us (Isa 45:15; Psa 57:2; 53:2).
Instead of asking the following question, 'I really don't understand why God didn't help even though I prayed?', you should be asking, 'What did God speak to me after I have prayed?, so that I can hear Him keenly and execute His command in obedience so that I will stay in his protection and walk in His will always to be pleasing to Him!' God can only be sought through faith which pleases Him always.
Our Heavenly Father God loves you always and hears your prayer because of it (John 16:26-27, 28). But are you hearing Him to be pleasing to Him always (John 14:15)? Meditate on the Word of the Lord spoken to you in each situation through His Word the Holy Bible and within your heart which God speaks to you through His Holy Spirit who quicken His Holy Word from the Bible, and also speaks face to face regarding each situation that you are passing through in life (Psa 32:8; 1 John 2:27). As a result of heeding His spoken Word, God has promised to give you whatever you desire, and also fulfill whatever you have asked to be done for you which includes provision, protection and His participation with you for his own pleasure (John 15:7).
Hallelujah!
I believe as you learn more about our loving Father in heaven, through these trials that you face day to day, you will become more wiser and more dependent on God our Father and His Grace to live a life pleasing to Him.
I want to remind you, that we must have faith to please God and without it we can never please Him no matter what (Heb 11:6, 1). In other words, we must learn to believe and hope that God is working together all that we feel as good, bad and ugly accidents and incidents of our life for our own eternal good because of our love towards Him, as He has promised to work it all out in such a way that we will become more blessed eternally within us than before in our lives even when we do not see a single tangible external answer the way we have expected from Him (Rom 8:28). So let us grow more and more in faith daily through the Word of God and the Spirit of God to hear his voice, and live a life pleasing to God for all the goodness He has shown to us freely in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior (Rom 5:8; 8:32). It is more blessed to give all of us as a living sacrifice to God, than to receive instant answers for our prayers from God which needs no great faith because God always answers to us more than we could ever ask or even think according to the power of our Lord Jesus Christ that works in us constantly to change us in to His image for His Glory (Rom 12:1; Eph 3:20; Rom 8:29-30). Amen!
Much Blessings....
Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name!
I know how hard it is to commute daily in our generation everywhere we are, especially in the cities which have become so crowded beyond its capacity to bear and the slowness of the local government to take up the issues which causes great inconvenience and danger to the commuters.
If we want a change, together we must spread the need for change among all those who are in need and get together as one voice to petition the required person in the railways or to the local politician who is in charge of the administrative control to take up the matter and get it solved.
If the station platform is low, and you have to climb up the step in to the train regularly, take the help of a friend who comes along with you to get in to the train or you altogether avoid it if you are not comfortable with that and instead take other means of transportation if required. Safety is the most important thing for all daily commuters. You could go by bus, or avail your company vans which could drop you to your place safely. We should be always be willing to choose what is safe over what is economical or easy to commute.
In a particular incident from the New Testament, when Paul the apostle and his team wanted to go to Asia to preach the Gospel, the Holy Spirit forbade them not to go to Asia (Acts 16:6), and again when they went to Mysia and tried to enter Bithynia which is another place near it, the Spirit of God did not allow him to go to that place further (Acts 16:7). Again when they passed through Mysia and moved on to another place called Troas, God guided Paul so clearly further through a vision to go to Macedonia.
We do not know for what exact reason the Holy Spirit forbade apostle Paul to go to certain place and further also did not allow them to go to certain other places, and instead further guided them to specific other place to do his work of preaching the Gospel and teaching the Word of God to them. These may be the reasons, because Satan might have planned something for them in those places to destroy them if they will not be in the will of God, those places would not have been ready to hear the Gospel as the heart of people need to be prepared by the Holy Spirit before they could get saved, or else the Holy Spirit might have felt a greater need for the people in Macedonia to hear the Gospel than in other places because they were thirsty and hungry for righteousness (Acts 26:9-10; Matt 5:6).
What I like to point out from the above is, God always hears our prayers without fail when we are the child of God who have believed in Christ Jesus (John 1:12-13). Delays in the tangible answer of God does not mean denials from God for our prayers (Dan 10:12), as the answer from God can be a yes, no or later. When we pray for protection and God says yes, nothing further will happen to us and we will be in complete protection by the hand of the Lord. When we pray for protection and God says no, it means God wants us to change our way and want to get in to His will and way so that we might be protected from both physical and spiritual harm which is more important to God and to people around us who watch our life as we profess to be a Christian to see whether we are different or live in the same way just like them (Matt 10:28-31). When God says later, we may face trials within God's sovereign protective hand for our own good, yet not beyond our strength to handle the trial through continual prayer and thus receiving God's grace to overcome our trials (Rom 8:28; 1 Cor 10:13; 2 Cor 12:7-10), where God is testing our obedience and want to know whether we will believe His promises and want to be guided by His voice to take heed to him rather than move forward by our impulsive own self with our own knowledge like a worldly person (1 Cor 10:6; Heb 12:25; Jam 1:22-25).
So in your case, I see that you are praying and going daily to your work place which is a very good thing, but have you sought God what He wants to say to you through it all after your prayers are over? You must be more interested in hearing what God wants to speak to you after your prayer, more than what you want to convey to him through prayer (Eccl 5:1). Prayer is not an opportunity for us to inform God of what is happening as though He doesn't know it all and instruct him what he should do to solve all the problems we face in the ways we expect him to act, nope, God knows all of our problems we face and have faced in the past and even what we will be facing even before we tell him (Matt 6:8). Instead God wants us to pray to him, so that we may be aligned to do His will, in His way, till His time comes so that we may see eternal victories through whatever life brings our way to fulfill God's purpose for our lives and live for His Glory (Matt 6:9-13, 14-15; 6:34; John 7:1, 30; Luke 4:12-13).
God has promised in His word that, "He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber" (Psa 121:3), and again He has promised safety for obedience saying, "11 I will guide you in the way of wisdom; I will lead you on straight paths. 12 When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; when you run, you will not stumble." (Prov 4:11-12), and further again He has promised, "Keep sound wisdom and discretion... Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble. 25 Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; 26 For the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught." (Prov 3:21, 23, 25-26).
So we glean from the above promises that God is not asleep when you stumble, the enemy may be at work (John 10:10), you might have been careless or fearful because of what has already happened to you previously (Josh 1:9). Thus you need to operate in faith all the time by hearing the voice of God in the present time of your need (Rom 10:17). Also it is more important to use "sound wisdom and discretion" in our lives and not blame God as though he has failed us.
For example, if you have slipped before getting in to the train in the past, use some good gloves to keep your hand dry and steady to hold on to the handle to get in to the train. Sweaty hands and feet are many times reason for falling down from trains and buses. For some this trouble is less and for others who burn well and have good metabolism they sweat a lot and face more problems in these areas during their daily commute. When again you said, "slipper fell down and somehow a guy helped me taking it", you can better use some good shoes with better grip that will not come off you feet. Above all, as I said, hear what God is saying to you personally through his word and with his voice in your heart about all these situations that you are facing, and take heed to the voice of the Lord and take corrective measures if you are hearing a No or Later from God. God and His Word will never ever fail (Matt 24:35). All the time it is we who fail God by failing to trust His promises (Mark 6:6; 1 Thes 2:13).
Do you know how many slip from the train to die daily without help even when people are present around them? Do you not realize that the first time when you fell, you slipped and yet you escaped with minor injuries because God had held you with His very own hand (Isa 41:10)? Again when you say 'my slipper fell down and somehow a guy helped me taking it', you do not yet notice that it is not 'somehow', but God used an angel in that guy who helped you taking the slipper and stay safe (Isa 28:26)? God does things for us always and hides himself to know whether we are seeking for the One who does all things for us (Isa 45:15; Psa 57:2; 53:2).
Instead of asking the following question, 'I really don't understand why God didn't help even though I prayed?', you should be asking, 'What did God speak to me after I have prayed?, so that I can hear Him keenly and execute His command in obedience so that I will stay in his protection and walk in His will always to be pleasing to Him!' God can only be sought through faith which pleases Him always.
Our Heavenly Father God loves you always and hears your prayer because of it (John 16:26-27, 28). But are you hearing Him to be pleasing to Him always (John 14:15)? Meditate on the Word of the Lord spoken to you in each situation through His Word the Holy Bible and within your heart which God speaks to you through His Holy Spirit who quicken His Holy Word from the Bible, and also speaks face to face regarding each situation that you are passing through in life (Psa 32:8; 1 John 2:27). As a result of heeding His spoken Word, God has promised to give you whatever you desire, and also fulfill whatever you have asked to be done for you which includes provision, protection and His participation with you for his own pleasure (John 15:7).
Hallelujah!
I believe as you learn more about our loving Father in heaven, through these trials that you face day to day, you will become more wiser and more dependent on God our Father and His Grace to live a life pleasing to Him.
I want to remind you, that we must have faith to please God and without it we can never please Him no matter what (Heb 11:6, 1). In other words, we must learn to believe and hope that God is working together all that we feel as good, bad and ugly accidents and incidents of our life for our own eternal good because of our love towards Him, as He has promised to work it all out in such a way that we will become more blessed eternally within us than before in our lives even when we do not see a single tangible external answer the way we have expected from Him (Rom 8:28). So let us grow more and more in faith daily through the Word of God and the Spirit of God to hear his voice, and live a life pleasing to God for all the goodness He has shown to us freely in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior (Rom 5:8; 8:32). It is more blessed to give all of us as a living sacrifice to God, than to receive instant answers for our prayers from God which needs no great faith because God always answers to us more than we could ever ask or even think according to the power of our Lord Jesus Christ that works in us constantly to change us in to His image for His Glory (Rom 12:1; Eph 3:20; Rom 8:29-30). Amen!
Much Blessings....
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