The Gift of Unanswered Prayer
Author: Tanner Reuss
Have you prayed for something over and over, but haven’t yet saw it come to fruition?
If you answered yes — I’m right there with you, friend. So many of us have walked this out in our own lives, praying, begging and pleading the Lord for answers or for Him to move in a specific way. A huge piece of my story involves chronic illness — one of the many prayers i’ve prayed over the last decade is for complete healing over my body. I have yet to see it come to fruition, but I have come to believe that unanswered prayers are often a gift and have the ability to strengthen our relationship with Jesus. You’re probably thinking — girl, what the heck are you talking about?! Believe me, I agree. It sounds crazy because it is such a foreign concept to us, we as humans are after instant gratification so waiting for anything almost always feels like the end of the world. But we have hope in Christ — the Lord truly is able to use anything for the good of those who love Him.
Why Waiting Feels Impossible
Waiting is something I never really had to do before my chronic illness diagnosis and it’s not something we love doing as people or as Christians. Whether we’re waiting for that new job, starting a family, financial freedom or even healing in body, mind, or spirit — the feeling is equally as heavy. It feels suffocating and makes us feel extremely out of control because it forces us to come to terms with the fact that we are weak on our own and completely reliant on God. When we’ve prayed, begged, and pleaded with God to bring us answers or to act on our behalf and there’s nothing else we can do, we come to a place of understanding that there is no more room for striving. The only choice we have is to be still. (Psalm 46:10).
While most of us would never choose the hardships we are faced with, they are often the driving force for closeness with Jesus that we have never experienced. It brings us to a point of complete awareness that we are unable to fix things on our own, our inadequacy drives us straight to the feet of Jesus. For me, this has rung true in my journey through sickness; it took hitting rock bottom and having nothing left to truly give everything i had to God and let Him begin to heal me from the inside out.
Pain into Purpose
I have come to be grateful for my season of waiting; understanding that whether I am healed earthside or not, God has a plan for my life. As difficult as seasons of waiting are, it pushes us to see that only Christ is in control. It is a gift to see the truth of God’s power, that He is the only one in control and what a relief it is that we aren’t God, that we aren’t in control, that all of the responsibility is not on our shoulders. I am so grateful that He embraces our weakness and offers us His strength. One of the things that I’ve held onto in the waiting is Psalm 56:8 — this verse is a true testament that God is with us in every trial, every moment — that he counts every tear that we’ve cried. He is our friend, father, and our comfort. He is present in our sadness, joy, and in our weakness, He gives us His strength.
No matter what you’re waiting on today, know that God is with you and He loves you. We encourage you to let go of whatever thing you are trying to remain in control of and that you live in a posture of open hands to heaven. There is freedom in surrender, friend and it is better than anything you could ever imagine. His plans are so much greater than our own.