Unanswered Prayer

Unanswered Prayer

The story of the Syro-Phoenician woman—one of my favorites—gives us helpful insight into prayer. From Matthew’s account, we learn that despite the woman crying out to Jesus for mercy for her tormented daughter, He initially “answered her not a word” (Matthew 15:23). Friend, what do you do when it seems God is not answering? Unanswered prayer can make us feel like He is indifferent, but the reality is—as we see by the miraculous ending of the story—that the Lord is inviting us to exercise our faith and persist in prayer. He’s giving us an opportunity to appreciate the answer even more when it comes. I like what Charles Spurgeon says: “Continue in prayer, and though the blessing tarry, it must come; in God’s own time it must appear to you.” Now that’s something to pray about!