The Unanswered Prayer

“Father, in the name of your son Jesus, heal my daughter.”

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve got over three decades of unanswered prayers. It’s frustrating and at times a test of my faith in an omnipresent God. Healing, wholeness, abundance, provision, and a bevy of other requests sincerely sought for, not just for me, but friends and family members. Nothing I’ve asked or pleaded for has materialized. If it has happened to me, I know that it is happening to you too.

Sure, I know the passage which claims that you have not because you ask amiss. But honestly, no one over the years has had the fortitude to demonstrate what that passage means and how to rectify my senseless prayers. Even you, while you read this, are overcome with the hesitation which permeates the unanswered prayer. This is hallowed ground that all walk over but no one wants to acknowledge.

When I first began my walk in this realm, I was schooled in the craft of prayer by a woman who was acknowledged throughout the town as a “prayer warrior.” From her I received my “prayer language” and began an intense internship in the prayer ministry of my church. Our voices were the underpinnings of every Sunday sermon, of the monthly baptismal service, and the yearly rededication to service for the members of our community of believers.

When our church moved into cell groups and my wife and I became leaders over other groups, praying was the requirement for dealing with the unknown which would weekly confront us. Direction and wisdom were the staples sought after during this time. Yes, I prayed for others to be led to us who needed the care we offered within the special space of our church group, but honestly, a “prayer language” prayer can cover a lot of ground you never knew you were walking I was told.

Selfish Prayer

What I have revealed to you up to this point might sound noble, but it’s merely the influence of a mega-ministry. When you accept a position within any prayer ministry you lose yourself to the greater ideals of the ministry you’ve aligned yourself with. Soon you begin to realize that just like your own prayers, the ministry prayers hit the same wall of answerability.

Honestly, I’ve been part of large and small prayer groups all dedicated to seeing the kingdom of God poured out on the community we were supporting. While there was great thrashing about “in the spirit,” over a span of time there were minimal, if any, results from the efforts we exerted over long periods of time. Looking back on the entirety of my public prayer life it was more an exercise of expressing the selfish desires of those in a position of power rather than the divine influences of an everlasting kingdom.

The side effect to this lifestyle is how personal prayer time becomes infected with these outside demands which limit your “time” with the Father. Suddenly what should be a dialogue becomes a monologue where you air your grievances about the evils of the world and how they hinder you and your family from achieving all the promises given in the bible. You’re compelled to “remind” the Father of these promises, which you have written down on 3×5 cards and scan every moment your in “prayer mode.”

The Prayer Industry

When prayers do not get answered everyone turns to “experts” who have prayers which work. There are more than 1,000 books available to aid any novice in how to pray “the effectual fervent prayer” of those deemed to be righteous. There is even a book entitled “Christian Prayer for Dummies” which has a 4.3 out of 5 rating on Amazon!

Every ministry that I’ve encountered has a collection of prayer materials they refer their congregants to when the question of prayer is ever presented to them. Somehow it is believed that these books or pastoral teachings are the sole basis for dealing with the entire nature of prayer. If you doubt me on this, then maybe you need to go to a group prayer where everyone has a background founded from differing ministries and listen to how prayer is conducted. You will be amazed how anything is every effectively prayed for!

The Who, What and Where of Prayer

I am going to be direct with you here. I don’t pray anymore. I recognize how some of you will Immediately pass some form of religious judgement upon me and leave this writing without discovering the Truths which will be unveiled. Bye.

For those of you who remained, the ache in your heart to discover why praying is so hit and miss is what I hope to address herein. To do so, I am asking that for a moment you suspend all you have learned and been told about what prayer is. Let me just call your past undertakings your belief, but it is not Truth. All of us have a belief in what prayer is but only a few have a true use of it. So, let’s look at the basics.

First, who are you praying to and who is praying? Second, what are you praying for and how does it align with the kingdom of God? Lastly, where are you praying to or from? I understand how these three questions might appear different within the context of this writing; however, they are actually one and the same. Allow me to show you.

Begin with End in Mind

Prayer has been sold to us as our ability to talk to God about our condition and plead for His help in the midst of our calamity. Rarely does anyone talk to God when things are going great. However, when the stuff hits the fan, knees bleed.

So, let’s ask first off where do our prayers go? Most will respond that they go to heaven, the place where God resides. Regrettably, this is the belief of most of the people on this planet regardless of their faith. Heaven is that up-there, out-there realm where all the “goodness of God” resides. It is the hope of all who pray that their supplication will pierce the veil into the third heaven and be adjudicated through our Christological union with the divine. Again, this is simple a belief, not the Truth.

Jesus, the Master, stated the Truth when he said that the kingdom of God is within you. Many have sent their prayers up to a place that doesn’t even exist in the hopes that some deity would respond. No response is a response that we ask amiss. Every. Single. Time. If you’re going to beseech God, wouldn’t it be best to do it in front of the throne rather than from the linen closet upstairs?

“But what about the Lord’s prayer?” some of you might be asking. First thing to get straight is how this is actually the disciple’s prayer where Jesus is showing them how to pray. Yes, Jesus does say, “Our Father, which art in heaven…” Most would stop right here claiming if Jesus said it, it must be true; you’re a heretic believing otherwise. Yet, just go to the next line, “…thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” If you believe Jesus has always done the will of the Father then the kingdom of God, the seat of the eternal realm is in you and me now, this very moment, and every moment when you’ve prayed thinking it was up-there, out-there somewhere.

The Who of it All

What does Santa Claus, slot machines and roulette tables all have in common? The answer is that we’ve all treated God likes one of them in prayer mode.

The Creator of the universe; the One who knew your before you were formed in your mother’s womb; the All in All; the invisible eternal omnipresent being within everything is not someone who you gamble on with prayers or expect to wake up in the morning and see what goodies have been left in your living room.

If you think that God has favorites, you would be correct. The entirety of creation is filled with His goodness, His oneness. This is what is His favorite. He cares for, appreciates and approves of ALL simply because He is omnipresent to ALL, in ALL and therefore knows ALL.

Yet, sometimes when we least expect it, particularly when we’re in distress, we forget the principle thing revealed to us by Jesus: God is Spirit. I know that this isn’t new to any of us, but it has a huge impact on how you pray. Jesus said if you’re going to worship God it must be done in Spirit and in Truth. This brings us to the What issue.

What do You Want?

Here is Truth: God is Spirit. God’s kingdom is spirit. The goodness declared by God is spirit in essence first. All of creation, which came out of Him, is spirit manifesting itself into materiality. The kingdom of God, its wholeness, well-being, prosperity, peacefulness is spirit.

The mind which you operate daily from is founded upon the senses – feeling, hearing, smelling, tasting, seeing – and it is not spirit. You might “think” you’re being spiritual but the minute one of your senses gets triggered, spirituality is out the door.

To add further complications to this, each of us has been trained from our birth into this material world to evaluate everything, everyone, every condition on a scale of good and evil, best or worst, hit or miss. This duality of thought undergirds our every action in the effort to secure our survival. You’re even doing this now as you read these words.

In the kingdom of God, ALL is one in the eternal spirit. The love of your neighbor as yourself is the spiritual law of one. There is no “either, or” to consider. This means there is no sickness, disease, death, or scarcity. Any opposite you can consider is an “or” to the oneness of the kingdom.

Our prayers are not spiritual as much as they are material. We pray for a sick body to be healed; for a dying friend to live; a cancerous growth to be eradicated; a financial burden to removed; a lost family member to be reunited; for broken lives and broken homes to be made whole; for the money in the bank to last until the end of the month; and these are just for ourselves. I won’t even begin to go down the path of prayer against our fellow man.

Every prayer for a material situation disregards the fundamental nature of all things being spiritual. You can’t approach God from a material world view. Spirit and Truth. Nothing in the material world is the Truth if your senses or duality of thought has tinted it.

How to Pray Effectively

This is probably going to be the most counter-intuitive approach to prayer you have ever heard or tried. But that is to be expected by one who is ruled by a dual-material mind. The method is simple, but difficult to master. It is found in Psalms 46:10

Be still, and know that I am God.

Stillness. Knowing. Simply difficult to “do.”

Notice it doesn’t mention anything about talking, rehearsing your woes, or pleading. Why should you anyway? In the presence of the all-knowing Creator, what could you possibly have to say which isn’t already known? It’s difficult to remain still when the urge to speak about your issues is present. But seriously, who told you they were your issues? Does this passage from Isaiah even apply to your situation:

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee.

Your mind is like a wild stallion on the open range running wherever it likes to travel. Trying to be still is nearly impossible in the depths of a situation where the material world is closing in on you. But focus your thoughts, all your thoughts on God and perfect peace will be your reward. You will then know God and trust God to show you what must be done. No pleading involved. No reciting numerous bible verses. No repentance. Just silence.

Now I recognize how some of you might claim that being still and silent isn’t really doing anything. However, anytime you allow the presence of God to come into a situation the fullness of His kingdom comes along. Lack, strife, sickness, and every other calamity you’ve created through your material mind is overrun by a kingdom where abundance, peace, and wholeness in oneness eternally operates.

This means that you can’t just choose to do this once and expect all your manifestations to be magically eradicated. It took you years of 24/7 material-mindedness to craft this perfect storm you’re in. You’re going to need to at least offer the same level of commitment to the spiritual remedy to take hold. Therein is the rub: Commitment. You’ll do it negligently to create a problem but stutter when real focus is essential.

Before you think that I’m some master here you need to put that thought on the shelf. I’m no different than you. I’ve taken the time to commit to this, but I still must wrestle with my thoughts to get still. I have a hoard of prayers from the past which haven’t been answered, but I am willing to allow them to fall to the ground. I find trickles of hope now in the silence as His presence enters my consciousness. But it takes effort on my part to achieve what is supposed to be effortless. So, I keep moving on towards the manifestation of the glory of my high calling.

To convince someone to do something is to “con” them out of their belief. I simply want to present to you a Truth not often acknowledged. The decision rests with you to apply it. Just give it your all – there is no alternative that has worked yet, right?