Q&A On Prayer (Part 1): Answers To Prayers

Q: God does not seem to answer my prayers

Prayer, as defined and portrayed in the Scripture, is powerful. Jesus prescribed it as an antidote to fainting or giving up (Luke 18:1)  and James observed that the earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. People, like you and me with feelings and not dead saints, are capable of making effective prayers. And in Jeremiah 33:3, God committed Himself to answer prayers – ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

     It appears to me from your question (which I have edited for brevity and clarity) that the problem is how to recognise answers to prayers. This is a major challenge even in the experience of people in the Scripture. Look at the following examples:

     When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites.  He saw one of them being ill-treated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defence and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. Moses thought that his own people would realise that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other? But the man who was ill-treating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?’ (Acts 7:23-28 ANIV, emphasis mine).
Israel prayed while in captivity in Egypt (Exodus 2 & 3), God answered and sent Moses. And the people almost missed the answer.

     In John chapter twelve, Jesus prayed. God answered from heaven saying “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again”. The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.  Jesus concluded, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine”. Think about it. Jesus prayed. God answered by speaking from above and the people did not understand. They probably went away feeling sorry for Jesus: “Poor Jesus, he prayed and God didn’t answer him”.

     A third example is found in First Samuel chapter thirty. David’s town had been raided in his absence, and everything including women, children and valuables were taken. After crying until he had no power to cry, David prayed. God assured him that he would recover all. It was an abandoned servant, helped by David and his men that took them to the raiding bandits. What if David, engulfed in his sorrow and loss, ignored this servant? He probably would not have recognised God’s answer to his prayer. The abandoned servant, in my view, was God’s instrument for David’s total recovery.

     The widow in Zarephath could easily have missed divine economic stimulus package. See 1Kings 17. Elijah, God’s answer to her prayer, did not look the part. He came demanding for food from the one who needed it. Fortunately, even in her dire need, she did not cease from being generous and she was supernaturally provided for in the terrible economic downturn of her day. Hebrews 13:2 (NLT) says Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

     The Syrian army General Naaman had a preconceived idea of how God should answer his prayers (2Kings 5). He approached Prophet Elisha for consultation and prayer. Elisha refused to see him and instead sent through his aide a simple prescription: Go dip in River Jordan seven times. Naaman stormed off grumbling, “I thought that he would at least come out to me, pray to the Lord his God, wave his hand over the diseased spot, and cure me! Besides, aren’t the rivers Abana and Pharpar, back in Damascus, better than any river in Israel? I could have washed in them and been cured!” But for his aides who prevailed on him, he would not have enjoyed God’s healing power.

     We often expect God to answer in spectacular ways but the supernatural does not have to be spectacular. We should pray, expect answers and show benevolence (as a lifestyle) to our neighbours. Jesus defines them as anyone we have opportunity to do good to – colleagues, strangers, widows, children,  fellow passengers on the bus, family members and those described as less fortunate in society. With all the scarcity in the world, there is no scarcity of opportunities to do good. God might package His answers in our generous acts to others.

     Non-visible rays (such as ultra violet) have always been there. But we did not benefit from their use until we discovered their existence and developed appropriate detectors. Now mankind has made progress in using these rays for its benefit. Same applies to our relationship with God. God still speaks. He says, ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you.’ We should develop our individual hearing capabilities. We should be very inquisitive about how He thinks. Developing a big appetite for His word is a good starting point. His words are expressions of his thoughts. Let’s learn from Jeremiah’s attitude towards God’s word:  Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. (Jeremiah 15:16)

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Q: As a young girl, I grew up to see my mum use candles to pray. I later discovered that it’s a culture she adopted from our white garment church. I became a Christian at the University and I cannot pray properly until I light a candle. My roommates criticise me, call me fetish and say that I am an improper Christian. Really, none of them lights candles to pray but I was told from home that candles energise the angels of the Lord to take your prayers to heaven unhindered. Is this true? Is anything wrong in using candles to pray? Why would the White garment churches use it if it has not assisted them? Please educate me on this.

I am not certain of the root of the use of candles to pray in white garment churches. It might have derived from the Old Testament (The candlestick or lamp-stand was one of the furniture in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle). According to A Handbook of Catholic Sacramentals, by Ann Ball, the practice of lighting candles in order to obtain some favour probably has its origins in the custom of burning lights at the tombs of the martyrs in the catacombs. The lights were to burn as a sign of solidarity with Christians still on earth but this in reality may have had its origin in some pagan rituals where torches were lighted in the tomb of dead people. The belief was that the light will help the departed find their way in the land of the dead.

In the New Testament, we don’t need any physical candlestick.  Jesus, the “true light that gives light to every man,” (John 1:9) came into the world so that man could see God and not live in spiritual darkness anymore (John 8: 12, John 9:46). We don’t need candles again to fellowship with God in the place of prayer, we now have access to the Father through the true light that gives light to every man; Jesus Christ!

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Q: I believe I have a good relationship with God but lately I find it hard to pray and even when I do if feel like it’s not answered. Why is this so?

Tiredness and weariness are probable causes of such a condition. A good break might be helpful. It’s good to know, however, that God does not relate with us based on our feelings but on the truth of His word.