The Best of the Portals of Prayer

Read: Psalm 17:6-15

Hear My Prayer

Among the problems that have always disturbed the Christian heart, one of the greatest is the problem of unanswered prayer. Does God answer all prayer? Will He answer mine? If not, why not? For these answers, we must go to the gates of eternity. Here on earth, we see as through a glass, darkly. But the question about unanswered prayer can be answered here: there never has been, and there never will be, anything like an unanswered prayer. Every true prayer, spoken in faith in the redeeming work of the Savior, whether it be the words of our lips or the sigh of our heart, is heard by God and answered. If we think of prayer as a great correspondence between earth and heaven, no letter is ever laid aside or left unanswered. God always hears our prayers!
This, however, is also true: some of our prayers have been, and will be, un-granted. But there always is an answer. Sometimes, the answer may be “yes”, some it may be “no”; most often, it may just be “wait, you do not see clearly. You vision is dimmed by your sin and tears. My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts your thoughts.”
This we must remember when we plead with God to hear our prayers. He hears them, but the answer is His, and not ours. He may want to take us in a way we do not want to go, but it is His way – the best way. Our plea should be, “Lord hear my prayer, Thy will be done.”

August 10, 1938