We struggle with prayer becasue so many of our prayers seem to go unheeded. I am a fan of John Piper’s comment that God is doing 10,000 things in your life and you are aware of maybe 3 of them.
Things that concern us cause us to pray and we rarely follow up, or give thanks when they are granted.
But it’s important to note that God never hears the unbeliever. God always hears his people, but he doesn’t always listen to them. Sometimes what we pray is contrary to God’s will, isn’t in God’s timing and given our limited understanding – is just wrong.
God’s delayed response or His answers to prayer that we don’t see or understand, is a thread all its own.
One thing is certain. God’s listening and heeding our prayers is conditional and those conditions are important to know.
Sometimes God doesn’t hear us because of our sin. We need to learn how to discern between these times and God’s providential care that takes longer or is beyond our understanding.
Locusts and Wild Honey 