Monday: When Prayers Seem Unanswered
Daily Lesson for Monday 11th of May 2026
Perhaps you’ve prayed about something for a long time, maybe even years, and it feels as if God hasn’t heard your prayers. The Bible tells us to “ask, and it shall be given you” (Matthew 7:7), “if we ask anything according to His will” (1 John 5:14, NKJV). What is your understanding of these promises?
Image © Lifeway Collection at Goodsalt.com
Hannah is an example of a devoted woman who prayed for something very specific (1 Samuel 1:10-17). At first it seemed that God did not answer her prayers, but she persisted, and God did answer, in His perfect time and according to His will. Sometimes the waiting deepens our walk with God, as we learn to trust Him more.
Psalms 62:8 says, “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (NKJV). Trust. Do we trust that He really does know what’s best, even when we don’t see an immediate answer to our prayers? Do we trust that eventually He will answer in His perfect time and way?
Sometimes our prayers may not be answered as quickly as we want or in the manner that we hope they will be. What counsel does the Bible give us about this?
• Seek God’s will, not your own (Matthew 6:10; 1 John 5:14-15).
• Consider your motives (Proverbs 16:2, James 4:3).
• Think about whether you have a cherished sin (Psalms 66:18, 1 Peter 3:12, Proverbs 15:29).
• Abide in God and in His Word (John 15:7).
• Have faith when you pray (Hebrews 11:6, James 1:6, Mark 11:24, Matthew 21:22).
• Consider the state of your heart (humble or proud) (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:6).
• Persevere (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18).
• Forgive others (Mark 11:25-26).
• Ultimately, God sees the big picture and knows what is best for us (Romans 8:28, Ephesians 3:20, Jeremiah 29:11-13). Sometimes His answer merely is as it was for Paul: “ ‘My grace is sufficient for you’ ” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NKJV).
A key fact that determines our response to what seems like unanswered prayers is our picture of God. If we see God as distant and disinterested, our relationship with Him weakens. In such times, search the Bible for evidence of His love and care for you, and pray that your distorted picture of Him will become clearer.
Paul had this experience:
Sometimes God has a different plan for us than the one we want and pray for. Paul took some time to learn that.
My Prayer for Monday:
Maurice, thank you for sharing your wisdom with SSnet.org to help us better understand the lesson.
Today I want to share an experience on the forum. One of my sons are currently going through a crisis, for which we are praying deeply and earnestly. His wife prayed on Friday and asked God for a sign on how to get out of the crisis. On sabbath morning she received what I call the ‘ constant answer’ This answer literally nailed her to the ground. We were so deeply impressed by the sign that we were both astonished and could not find the words. Yet another conviction that our God lives and is involved in everything input lives. It gave us the conviction that my son will get out of the crisis and I believe that while we pray, God is working on him and with us. Then our mouths will fill with hymns of praise and prayers of thanksgiving and it will be a testimony with which we will encourage others. God is great en He throughly loves His children
Thank you Maurice for the invitation to share life experiences as they relate to the Sabbath School Lesson
A few months ago I went to get an upgrade on my glasses. During the preliminary procedures the Optical Technician along with the Opthalmologist saw something in my eyes ( or one of them ) that made them feel uncomfortable. The specialist doctor then perscribed an eye drop to be placed in my eyes before I go to bed at night.
This is where the problem began, as I continued taking the Eye Drops, my head began to spin. I confess that sometimes “the drop” partially entered the eye because my aim was not accurate and I would take a repeat aim. To cut a long story short: from that time till now the dizziness has not stopped. { Please allow me to interject here that I again just prayed for a miracle. And maybe when I have arisen from typing my head may not be lightheaded} But failing that please agree with me in prayer that according to His will I would be healed of this Vertigo. Thanks.
I am bringing to God a prayer for your situation.
Dear Steve, I pray that the Lord may give you wisdom in regard to what to do about your eyes. Along with the invitation to come to Him with our problems, the Lord has promised to give us wisdom.
When we have a bad reaction to any sort of medication, it seems to me that a common-sense approach would be to stop the medication immediately, tell the doctor what happened, and go on from there. (Sometimes the medication is not necessary at all.)
When we are subjected to pain and suffering it is not that God is absent. God is omnipresent,and He finishes before He starts. So the dark tunnel experience in our lives shapes us better for us to see and appreciate the light at the end of a tunnel. The light at the end of the tunnel could be Jesus Christ.
Consequently, it calls for faith and boldness to navigate through the tunnel to behold the Light at the end.
In the book of Exodus, God led the Israelites using the longer, harder and challenging route to the Promised Land not because there was no easier, interesting and shorter route but because there was need to be time for the children of Israel’s training, for they had to go through some very trying situations in their lives. They wasted lots of time wondering what was God’s timing, but God continued taking care of them and showed them what He wanted them to do, basically showing that God has a time to work on our faith. We are capable of making requests of God that are 100% materialistic in nature, convenient to us, shortsighted, and, at most, immature. The one-million-dollar question is whether our petition is for our own selfish interest, pride, and attainment, or whether it is really for the glory of God. Our Father is keen to have our prayers answered. Answers to prayer honor Him and bring glory to Him.
In James 4:3, it is clear that we ask and do not receive because we ask with wrong motives, that we may spend what we get on our pleasures. Adrian Rogers says, “With God, timing is far more important than time.” For answered prayers could be delayed to display His glory. In the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, God waited until the situation was so difficult that there was no way the old parents could get the glory from it. God has called us for eternity in heaven, and that is our ultimate purpose.
When we suffer with delayed answers, God develops perseverance, character, and hope as we trust Him in prayer. Our suffering and delay prepare us for eternity. As Romans 5:3–4 says, “Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” It is easy to see how timing plays an important part in learning to trust God. If He did everything we asked for immediately, we would never grow and develop. When prayers go unanswered, it is easy to feel discouraged and wonder if God listens to our prayers. But even in the silence, He is near. If we are pressing through unanswered prayers, this message offers us encouragement, hope, and truth to help us keep trusting in God.
God is sovereign. God is all-wise and all-knowing. Prayer is not a way to manipulate God’s sovereignty. At times, believers think that with enough faith, enough fasting and using correct words, they will make heaven do what they want. Nobody fully understands how God respond to every request. Even though we think we have got it right, God’s ways are far beyond human imagination (Isaiah 55:8-9). Therefore, when we pray, we must acknowledge that God is sovereign, all-wise, and all-knowing, and that He will answer in whatever way He deems best. This requires faith that God will always take care of our prayers with love, compassion and all wisdom.
One of the greatest mistakes that we make about prayer is to think that prayer is only about making requests to God and waiting for God to respond. Prayer is much more than presenting our “shopping list” to God and expecting Him to deliver the goods in our house. Prayer is a means to express our dependence on God. Prayer is a form of worship. Prayer is a means to strengthen our relationship with God. Prayer is an opportunity to express our thankfulness to God. Prayer is an opportunity to allow God to transform us. Therefore, when we have a wrong perspective about prayer, we become impatient and feel that God has not answered some of our prayers. God answers some prayers in ways we cannot fathom because we are not in tune with His will.
In fact, our faith should be stronger to continue trusting God even when we think that God has not answered our prayers. We cannot hurry God to meet our needs. We should ask God to help us to be patient while He is sorting our prayer requests.
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20, NLT)
Is not according to God’s will. The timeframe is not only limited, God has His own time to answer our prayers, accordingly.
Yes Oluakimata, God does have His own timing, that puts our lives in Gods will, if our request or supplications, are according to His will(Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven). That is what surrender is. That is what putting our trust fully in God’s hands is, a trust that leans not on our own aspirations and understandings, rather on God totally. A trust in God that no one can break. A faith so secure that, God will make your paths and your life straight, because we can say as Paul said:
Galatians 2:20.
[20] “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” From the English Standard Version.
Furthermore, as Paul said:
Romans 8:35-39.
And because as Soloman admonished:
Proverbs 3:5. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don’t depend on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:6. “Put the Lord first in everything you do and He will direct your life.” From the Clear Word.
Keeping faith in periods of what seems like unanswered prayers can be hard. Especially if the waiting is long and if the stakes are high.
Usually, when we talk about “unanswered prayers”, we mean that God didn’t give us what we asked for or expected. It’s been said that God answers all prayers, but his answer may be yes, no, or wait. While that’s helpful to know, as humans we often don’t know for sure what answer it is (is God saying no so I should move on from this, or is it a wait so I should persevere in my prayers and expectations), and that uncertainty can also be difficult. And also, as the lesson has reminded us, sometimes the delay to our prayers being answered rests in us- our doubts, our motives, our holding onto sin, our unforgiveness… and that can be hard to navigate as well.
The topic of “unanswered” prayer is important as reading the stories of the Bible patriarchs shows it’s something they had to deal with too. Think of Abraham and Sarah and their wait for a son, Joseph and the delay of the realisation of his dreams, Moses and his years in the wilderness as a lowly shepherd, Paul and the thorn in his side…
The lesson suggests how we can respond to what seems like unanswered prayers; in such times, we search the Bible for evidence of His love and care for us and pray that God will give us a clearer picture of himself during this period of waiting through seemingly unanswered prayer. We may also God to teach us what lesson he would like for us to learn.
I’m grateful that in navigating the seasons of “unanswered prayer” God does not leave us alone. He provides a comforter and teacher to walk with us- His Holy Spirt.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, that you do not leave me alone, especially in the hard seasons but that in Jesus name, you have sent me the Holy Spirit to be my comforter, encourager, and teacher. Help me to be open to the working of your Spirit in my life that, in all seasons, my experiences will draw me closer to you. Amen
Hands up anyone whose prayer motives are pure! I know mine aren’t despite the best possible construction I place on my own motives. However, the fact that my prayers are the result of a selfish, immature, and developing character doesn’t limit His desire or ability to respond – I’m glad for that!
Additionally, but related to our maturity – it seems to me that prayer is not a substitute for reasoned action. Waiting on the Lord to answer a prayer (for example, like waiting for a sign before deciding on some action), doesn’t remove all the other mechanisms God provides to make a reasoned, considered choice. Our fellow believers and our church community can be used by God to answer questions we may have presented to God.
While prayer is no substitute for action – neither is action a substitute for prayer. My difficulty usually revolves around getting the balance right which is often related to my focus.
This has got me thinking! Thank you, and God bless you.
Thank you Randall. You said exactly what I was thinking because if God waited until I was pure and unselfish I would never get a prayer answered.I’m so glad we serve a compassionate God who sees and understands our infirmities. Yet despite this he still grants our requests according to his wisdom.
Are there truly “unanswered prayers”? I am asking this while considering some thought-challenging comments made on this forum. From the prayer above in Maurice’s notes, he writes:
At the same time, Omwenga’s notes carry these words as well:
And this gets me thinking and questioning myself on perspective—are my prayers about me, or are they intended to connect me to God, or to God’s rewards or responses? It’s here my face is downcast, and the questions start streaming through my mind. What was I asking for? If we look keenly, the answers to those prayers are already out there—maybe not the answers we wanted, but they were answered. It’s the reason why I ask myself the question: Are there truly “unanswered prayers”?
It’s hitting me just now that Hannah’s prayer was not mainly about getting a child, but more about being freed from the torment of Peninnah—the mockery, the taunting—had reached a point she could not take anymore. She had Elkanah’s love, and that she knew, but she needed peace from Peninnah’s torment—and God answered that very unsaid prayer:
Hannah would surrender her son, Samuel, to God’s service forever, but the torment ends—prayer perfectly answered. I see now, and I hope we can look around too: the answer is just next to you—though it may not be what you were expecting.
Thank you, Stanley. I had never thought of that. Hannah’s prayer was not primarily for the lack of a child but for the torment that came with that lack. Peninnah tormented her constantly, and it’s likely she faced stigma and shame by her society. The birth of Samuel ended that shame, and that is why she could let him go and give him back to the One who had lifted her head. I appreciate that insight.
Isn’t it wonderful that God understands us better than we understand ourselves!
Asking for a daily outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds with the expression of the Fruit of the Spirit is paramount to our daily lives. “PATIENCE and FAITHFULLNESS”, two key attributes of the Fruit of the Spirit, is vital for waiting upon the Lord to answer our prayers and trusting in His timing. God is all knowing and all wise and His timing is not like ours.
Amazing Godly principles to guide our prayer lives.
In the course of my prayer life, I have come to realize that God’s will is not against ours except that He wants to grant our requests in an excellent and marvelous way.
So in prayer “Your will be done” does not mean our will is dismissed. Just that our will is elevated.
Right now, I have prayer requests for which I’m awaiting answers, solutions or a breakthrough.
As I wait and go through the list of reasons why the wait is still present, I reflect on the other prayers which have been answered and are in the ” outbox ” proverbially.
I also reflect on the words of the song Waymaker:
Even though I don’t see it He’s working.
I continue to ask God for the Holy Spirit’s comfort as I wait.
I started with the sda church the beginning of the year to let go of anything that could prohibit God from hearing me. I humbly walked in faith for my community if their be any fault against one another that it be forgiving the ending of last year. I love that God responded with this church because line upon line precept upon precept no better instruction can the Lord give. Than with the bible.today I’m leaning on God everlasting arms because everything God provided with this concept have to go back to the drawing board in the name of Jesus. It like everything was uprooted as spoken of in Jude. I feel like giving up. But I will trust you. I was able to participate in 10 day prayer. Church keep me in your prayers tht even if I don’t have the words.a short prayer will keep me on the mainline with Jesus. Have a bless week
I’ve said a prayer for you now, Rodi. Hold on to God’s unchanging hand.
Thank you
The lesson writer states: “A key fact that determines our response to what seems like unanswered prayers is our picture of God;” maybe we see God as distant or disinterested. My comment regarding prayer and praying – answered or unanswered – attempts to bring attention to the ultimate purpose of prayer and one’s station in life as a believer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Do we perceive our God and His Work correctly? Do we see the ‘outcome’ of our praying/prayer as God’s work in our life through which He establishes His Honor and Glory. Though ‘answered’ prayers appear to benefit the one who asks or the one who receives, ultimately, prayer and praying ought to focus on establishing/contributing/manifesting God’s Glory.
I consider it is not fruitful to seek God’s answers to our prayers in isolation from His plan for our Salvation – to establish a new heaven and earth and our life in it. Our time spent on this earth – all encounters in our life – are meaningful only in light of heaven’s work on behalf of the praying individual to again become God’s dwelling place – Eph.2:21-22; 1Cor.3:16.
The ‘Book of Revelations’ depicts the great drama taking place in the life of mankind as God brings again all things ‘under the feet’ of His Son, Jesus Christ. In this light, faithful, humble prayer, perceived as answered or unanswered, participates in establishing God’s Kingdom here on earth – ushering in the new heaven and earth. Our heavenly Father, through faithful prayer coming from a humble heart, seeks to align our will with His – implementing His Plan of our Salvation according to His Purpose – Rom.8:20-30. .
I am a person of experience. Not that I have it all, but I want to experience things. Thus, God invites me to experience Him, and as I do, I’ll see His mercy! Thank God for His knowledge about me is better than my own!
I guess my visceral reaction to the long list of Bible texts in today’s lesson is somewhat negative and not because I don’t believe in them, but when we string them together on a chain, I think we may be suggesting things that they are not meant to suggest.
My mother had cancer twice. The first one she was able to beat but the second one spread quickly and aggressively and she lost her battle at the young age of 34. Everyone who knew her prayed. She claimed many of the verses listed today. I know that because when she saw that she was likely to die, she bought 2 of the It is Written Bible promise books, one for me and one for my sister. She underlined many of the promises that I read today. I have one of her Bibles today – similar verses are underlined. But healing was not to be. Maybe she didn’t have enough faith or wasn’t persistant enough. But I don’t think that’s the whole story. I trust God knew what was best, but it doesn’t make it easier when people share their “miracle” stories that often seem quite trite. For the two little girls that lost their mother (we were 7 and 4 at the time), it seems our prayers were more significant than some of the other stories.
I guess there are two things I keep in my mind to keep my perspective grounded on this issue.
The first is that God’s ultimate will is salvation. Everything takes a back seat to that. If people are saved because my mother’s life wasn’t saved, I accept that. They might be people who knew her or perhaps it even shaped me so I can help in the process of someone’s salvation. I think we have to keep that in mind.
The second is that God cannot take away the free will of people. I pray for the salvation of people and some of those prayers may not be answered. But God cannot force them. I recognize prayer has power, but it will never be a silver bullet. It can’t be.
Is that real enough for you Maurice?
Paul’s experience with the thorn in his flesh has a special meaning for me as I am experiencing decreasing vision due to severe glaucoma which is destroying my optic nerves. I’m now 15 years since first being diagnosed and about 5 years into the “low vision” designation. Three years ago I “qualified” as legally blind in my left eye as I have generally clear vision but only see about 20-25% of what a normal eye can see. My right eye is down to about 40% vision. I use accessibility features to allow me to read or listen to SSQ and SSNET.
THIS CONDITION HAS BEEN A MATTER OF SERIOUS SOUL SEARCHING AND PRAYER FOR MANY YEARS. My local congregation has prayed about it. Several years ago when I had to give up my midwifery practice due to my decreasing vision I experienced a deep personal conviction that God was saying to me what He said to Paul “speak no more about this matter. I have other things for you that will allow my Grace to become manifest to those around you.”
Yet many folks still want me to “believe that God can heal your vision”. They chide me for a lack of faith, rather than joining me in accepting this apparent answer.
My retirement from midwifery opened up time for me to take on directing our church’s food pantry. That ministry has brought around 650-700 community members in contact with our congregation, monthly. This past year our church hired two full-time Bible workers. They are present in a separate adjacent classroom while our pantry is open two days for a total of 7.5 hours per week. They have literature available and offer prayer and Bible studies. All of which our pantry volunteers are prohibited from doing.
Recently my surgery and complicated recovery has resulted in folks stepping up to lead out in pantry management who would not have done so if I had continued to be available. God is good and works in mysterious ways. My loss of vision over the past year now makes it hard for me to complete some of the necessary computerized reporting and supply ordering but others are seeing the need and step forward.
Am I happy to be on my way to blindness? Not at all but God is working through this to increase understanding of ministry in our congregation. My loss is increasing the workers in our field in ways I couldn’t have done.