Unanswered Prayers

I just randomly found a quote online, "Unanswered prayers are themselves answers." Thinking about that, I can't help acknowledging how true that is, so I thought I'd list some of the answers that we may draw from our unanswered prayers for blessings and guidance.

Blessings:

No

Sometimes we ask for a blessing and we don't get it. Often, that's because what we want wouldn't actually be good for us. God has a plan that's set more for our eternal happiness than our present comfort. If a certain blessing might make us happier now, but could jeopardize receiving eternal happiness later, we shouldn't expect that kind of "blessing" to come from God.

Later

Occasionally, God is willing to let us have the blessing we asked for... but not yet. Maybe we need to be patient. Maybe we need to work for the blessing. If it's a good thing, God's not going to deny us of it forever.

You Don't Need It

Often, we pray for help and strength, not knowing that we already have all the strength we need for the tasks that lie ahead of us. God knows better than we do how difficult our challenges are going to be, and He knows better than we do exactly how strong we are. He knows what we do or don't need. Though we often feel that we need more than we have, and we often pray for what we think we need, God sometimes retains what we've asked for, knowing that we don't really need it.

Guidance:

Listen Harder

Often, God wants to give us the guidance we ask for, but we fail to hear it. Maybe our own feelings and desires are in the way of receiving God's instructions. When God tells us that we need to do something that we don't want to do, we might ignore the prompting, or ask again and not get an answer the second time because of a reason I'll give later. When we ask God for guidance, we should try to listen with the intent to act, and try not to let our thoughts get in the way of His.

I Trust You

God occasionally let's us make our own choices without any guidance from Him. Hopefully, this is because God trusts that we'll make the right decision even without His help (rather than because He knows that we'll make the wrong decision no matter what He tells us to do). We're here to gain wisdom and experience. If we succeed in that, we'll eventually gain enough wisdom to not need heaven's help to make decisions.

Try It And See What Happens

Alternatively, if we're not really listening to God's advice, and we're not wise enough to make the right decisions on our own, sometimes God steps back and lets us learn from our own mistakes. They're not always major mistakes (He usually warns us about those ones whether we listen or not), but they're always mistakes we can learn from, and the wisdom we learn from our mistakes may be worth more to our souls than the comfort we'd experience from receiving and following God's perfect advice.

It's Not Important / Either Way Works

God's probably not going to tell you which tie to wear, or which dress to wear (as long as they're both modest). He's not going to tell you what to eat for breakfast or what route to take to get to work (unless He wants you to avoid an accident). There are countless decisions that we make daily that don't really factor in to the eternal scheme of things. Some decisions aren't important enough to merit specific revelation.

You Already Have The Answer

God rarely tells us what we already know. He rarely tells us as individuals what He has already told us as a church. If we already have the answer to the question we're asking, we can't expect God to tell us the answer again. If we already know what choice we should make, we shouldn't rely on God to remind us. If we know that answer to our question, or if we know where to find the answer, we shouldn't be surprised if God doesn't give it to us just for asking.

When God doesn't answer our prayers, there's always a good reason for it. Maybe, with a little thought and soul-searching, we'll be wise enough to figure out what the reason is. Maybe we need to listen harder. Maybe we need to work harder. Maybe we just need to wait. Whatever we need to do, God will help us along the right path whenever we need His help and are willing to accept it. Otherwise, we may or may not get an answer to our prayers. But during those times when we don't get an answer, even the lack of an answer can tell us something, and maybe that is the answer God would give us.