As we journey through the chapters of our lives, the love and faithfulness of God allow us to taste His goodness and experience the abundance of His grace in so many ways.  Often through material provisions, comfort and joy, physical and emotional healing, and through victories and triumphs in life.

However, despite this goodness, we all experience times of failure and uncertainty.  We all go through travails and trials in life when we are shaken to the core – causing our hope to falter and our perseverance to be tested.  Then we begin to doubt God’s ways and direction in our lives.  We start to lose faith and feel as if God is silent – that maybe He “left the building,” or perhaps, “NEVER was in the building.”  For example,

• You are a high school senior. Throughout your senior life, you’ve been praying for acceptance into the prestigious university where you wish to study.  Your grades are excellent and so are your faculty recommendations.  Finally, the day that you have been waiting for arrives and a letter from the university is delivered to your home.  You open the letter, and it states that your application has been rejected.  You are devastated.  You ask yourself — and God — the question “What did I do wrong?”

• You are a loving husband and a responsible family man. You’ve been working quietly and diligently for the last few years, and pleading with God to finally clinch that long-awaited promotion.  One day, your boss convenes all of you for a significant announcement.  The announcement turns out to be the promotion you have patiently been waiting for.  But sadly, it was not your name that was called.  You feel shattered and begin to question whether God really knows the desires of your heart.

• You are a mother of a problematic and rebellious child. You raised and nurtured your child in a Christian home with Biblical principles.  Yet, now that s/he is grown, their path of choice seems to involve making one wrong decision after another.  You cry your heart out to God each night for your child to finally choose the right path.  But to no avail.  Your child has turned their back and has decided to live a life out there in the wilderness.  You begin to doubt yourself and question whether you were a lousy mother.  Moreover, you inquire if God really listens to your prayers?

The truth is, many believers go through this journey whenever they feel God isn’t answering their prayers.  But wait!  Is He really a God who does not answer prayers and are we really surrendering to His sovereignty enough to allow Him to answer our prayers?

God answers our prayers in a variety of ways.  And anyone who desires to have a closer relationship with Him through Jesus Christ must know that He is not a genie – He is the Almighty God and does not answer prayers on demand.  Knowledge of His nature helps us understand that He answers prayers not only with a Yes – but also with a “No” and with a “Wait.”

Yes, there are times when He grants us our petitions and desires because 1) He knows that it would be good for us and 2) the timing is right for Him to grant those petitions, as these are the times when God says “Yes.”

The times when He answers our prayer with “No.” could possibly mean that the desires of our heart are not in sync with His will and perfect plan for our lives.  Though, sometimes, the answer is “Wait” or “Not Yet,” which merely means the timing is not right for us to receive such a gift or blessing from Him.  In both instances, and as God’s children, we are exhorted by God’s spirit to submit to His will – to trust that He knows better than us and to understand that His timing, not ours, is always perfect.

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance of things that we do not see.”  This Bible passage reminds us to continue to hope and trust in God, even when tangible proof of his presence is not seemingly present.

Faith is hope of things unseen.  To have faith also means to continuously surrender our lives to God every single day by acknowledging the fact that our vision and plans are limited compared to His greater plan and will in our lives.  While this may be easier said than done, we ought to remind ourselves that He has worked out His mighty plans in the lives of His people throughout history and especially in the lives of His children as documented in the Bible.

In Joshua 1:9, He tells Joshua “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” And in Jeremiah 29:11, He reminds Jeremiah and Israel, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

God freely gave these promises and assurances to both Joshua and Jeremiah, and to all of [us] His children.  In times of personal struggle and hardship – and when He seems far away, the Holy Spirit assures us that we can rely on those promises.

May the God of hope fill you with all the joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit – Romans 15:13.

What personal promise has God given you?  Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.