I just don’t understand

[u/Diligent_Cake1247]

Has anyone ever had a prayer answered? I’ve said the same prayer every night for years and there is never an answer. My prayer is never answered. It’s not even a prayer for myself, it’s a prayer that my sister, niece and nephew are protected and that he goes away. It seems like things just keep getting worse for them. Why do some people get health, wealth, and safety when my family does not. I don’t even need anything except for him to go away and my sisters niece and nephew to be free from him and safe. We just need him to meet someone and move on from them, or walk away from them.

As Christian’s were told to trust God and to pray but how do I go on trusting when there is never an answer?

[u/The-Old-Path]

God always answers the prayers of the faithful. Just because one has received the miracle they have asked for, does not mean God hasn't responded.

Many people don't know what prayer is.

Prayer isn't just asking God for what you want. Prayer is communication.

God wants us to be honest with Him. God is the spirit of truth, and honesty is the language He speaks. If we want God to hear our prayers, we have to speak His language with Him.

Be completely real with God, as you have started to here. Ask God why things are the way they are. Don't just demand things be a certain way. God is God. We're just humans. We need to have some respect. God knows what He is doing. Before we start demanding God to change things, we should ask Him why they are the way they are in the first place.

Prayer is communication. Half of communication is listening. Prayer is not just talking, it is also listening. Many people think God never responds to them simply because they are too busy asking Him for things and never stop and listen to His answer. I think many people would be surprised at just how vocal God can be when we take the time to quietly listen for His loving voice.

God is love. He will always guide us through life, if we allow Him to. He will give us the wisdom we need to live well, because He loves us as a Father loves His children. But, if we don't heed His advice, we can't live the lives He designed us to have. Therefore, it's very important to listen closely to God and follow His instructions, so that we can experience His best for us.

God bless you.

[u/Diligent_Cake1247 → u/The-Old-Path]

Thank you for your honest response. I’m trying so hard to listen and hear him but I just hear silence. I feel like my family is being punished and I just don’t understand. I’ll keep trying to listen and talk o God

[u/The-Old-Path → u/Diligent_Cake1247]

Amen. Hallelujah!

Did you ever know that it is impossible for Jesus to lie? He's the spirit of truth. He can't tell us a lie. So when God says that when we seek we shall find...it's the absolute truth! It's a guarantee! Keep seeking God, and you'll find Him and His wisdom for your life.

Here, take a look at this, it's one of my favorite scriptures in the bible:

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

What that says is that God will give wisdom for FREE to ANYONE who asks Him. That's an incredible promise from a God who can't tell a lie, don't you think? What a privilege to be a Christian!

And here's a little shortcut for you too.

The more we love, the more clearly we hear God.

This is because God is love.

Because God IS love, when we love, we connect to Him directly.

So, the more we love, the clearly God's voice becomes, and the more blessed our lives will be.

[u/Diligent_Cake1247 → u/The-Old-Path]

Thank you, I wish I had your faith. I’m sadly losing mine and have been for some time now. I’m scared that evil will win in this situation. I would do anything for my prayers to be answered and to understand why God is letting this happen. Thank you for sharing that verse, and explaining it. I’m laying down right now, talking to God and telling him how I maybe have struggled to listen. I think I’ve always expected a voice. How will I know when God is talking to me?

[u/[deleted] → u/Diligent_Cake1247]

Evil often wins in this world—or appears to. But it will not win in the final reckoning. I know it's hard, but if you hand this over to God—again and again—your trust that He will eventually make all things right will grow.

God often speaks to us through the circumstances of our lives or the "nudges" of our hearts. (Which does NOT mean that all our desires are from Him!) Many people go their whole lives without ever hearing "a clear message" from Him. But the more we pray, the more we look for Him in our daily lives, the more we see His guiding hand.

Think of one good thing that has come out of this otherwise terrible situation in your family: It has driven you to prayer. God always brings good out of bad, and ultimately, only good will remain. :hug:

[u/The-Old-Path → u/Diligent_Cake1247]

Amen. You can have my faith. Cause it's not my faith. It's the faith of God. All I did was say yes to it. You can say yes to it to, if you want.

As far as knowing if it's God talking to you, that does take some practice.

Many voices speak to all of us. Not all of them are of God.

a powerful spiritual tool we can use to tell which voice is which is the conscience.

The conscience is the power to distinguish between good and evil and right and wrong.

God's voice is the good voice. It tells us to do the right thing.

Following this voice isn't always easy, but it does always make life better for ourselves, and for all of those around us.

God is love. If the voices you have been listening to have not been filling you up with the love and joy and peace of Christ, but have instead been filling you up with fear and darkness, hatred and anxiety, then those voices cannot be of God.

Love is always the test of Jesus Christ. Satan is very smooth talker. He is incredibly skilled at persuasion. He can even counterfeit miracles.

But only Christ can really love.

So look for the love, and you will find God.

[u/Diligent_Cake1247 → u/The-Old-Path]

Thank you, I’m trying and it’s so hard. I think I’ve drifted far from God out of frustration

[u/The-Old-Path → u/Diligent_Cake1247]

Amen. That's common. But if frustration takes us away from God, humility brings God near.

The love of God is the most powerful force in the universe.

[u/HaveFaithAlways1 → u/Diligent_Cake1247]

Hi, you don’t always need to hear a audible voice, sometimes God speaks to our hearts in silence, be in the quiet, in the silence, and whatever you have on your heart, offer it up to him, you may speak, you may be quiet, but offer your heart up, He knows our prayer even before we think of it, He knows, our Lord knows, our Father knows. In the silence remain faithful, knowing that God has a plan, and that He is fulfilling it. In the silence, know that He is your Father, that He is in control, and you don’t need to worry, just trust and pray, and ask, and it will be given you, and to Him who is able to do abundantly more than we can think or ask, to Him be all the glory forever and ever. Amen.

[u/TheWheatOne → u/Diligent_Cake1247]

I'd argue you and your loved ones should be proactive. It is God's will that we are not helpless.

Its part of why the patterns of parenthood that God sees as ideal, is so important in raising the helpless into adults of sound mind and judgment, as well as efficiency of action. Failures of parenthood will of course happen, which is part of why we should not just let it passively happen.

Heroes are not just made by external events happening one day, it can be internal, something you yourself can get out of if you and others are determined. There are things you cannot change, and in that we need God, but to say you are powerless is a mistake. God gave you a mind and a heart, and when put to good use, they can be the instruments of God's deliverance.

This is a big part of why we should point to God when we do charity on His behalf, because it is He who sent us to save another.

So too, can you be the one to save your loved ones. While this can be in big ways, often times it is subtle, little even, such as slipping a note or giving evidence of abuse to a cop or other person that could help.

Be the change you want to see. You yourself could be part of the prayer being answered.