From the Pen of C.H. Spurgeon:
Why Do My Prayers Go Unanswered?
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you.
Isaiah 30:18
God often delays in answering prayer. We have several
instances of this in the Bible. Jacob did not get the blessing from the angel
until near the dawn of day--he had to wrestle all night for it. The poor woman
of Syrophoenicia received no answer for a long while. Paul asked the Lord three
times for "a thorn . . . in the flesh"1 to be taken
from him, and he received no assurance that it would be removed, but instead a
promise that God's grace would be sufficient for him.
If you have been knocking at the gate of mercy and have
received no answer, shall I tell you why the mighty Maker has not opened the
door and let you in?
Our Father has personal reasons for keeping us waiting.
Sometimes it is to show His power and His sovereignty, so that we may learn
that God has a right to give or to withhold.
More often the delay is for our benefit. You are perhaps
kept waiting in order that your desires may be more fervent. God knows that
delay will quicken and increase desire, and that if He keeps you waiting, you
will see your need more clearly and will seek more diligently, and that you
will treasure the mercy all the more on account of the wait.
There may also be something wrong in you that needs to be
removed before the joy of the Lord is given. Perhaps your views of the gospel
plan are confused, or you may be relying upon yourself instead of trusting
simply and entirely in the Lord Jesus. Or God makes you wait for a while so
that He may display the riches of His grace more abundantly in the end.
Your prayers are all filed in heaven, and if not immediately
answered they are certainly not forgotten, but in a little while they will be
fulfilled to your delight and satisfaction. Do not allow despair to make you
silent, but continue to present your requests to God.
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