When God Does Not Answer
The Bible is a book full of promises. I personally believe all those promises to be true. But at the same time know that God’s will goes beyond His promises; He does what He wants. I always thought that I was a woman of prayer. I used to pray a lot, fast a lot and write on my bedroom’s walls all those passages in which God promised something . My walls were full of papers containing the Word of God. This way God’s promises were always there when I wanted to pray and claim them.
But a period came - and I am still in it - in which all these promises are not coming to pass. In 2008 I started praying for a loved one because I had a few dreams with him. He is not a Christian but in those dreams I had, I felt God was showing me that this man was going to be one. These were very complex and symbolic dreams, others were more direct. In the first dream I saw this person trying to bring down and destroy a big stone wall. I saw Him suffering and fighting with that wall because he was behind it, trapped.
As I believed God’s word, I believed God was speaking to me. I thought God was showing me that I had to pray for my friend because he was fighting against something that had him yoked. But I asked God to speak to me again and show me if I was right in my interpretation of that dream. A few days after the first dream, I had a second dream. In that dream I saw myself standing on a huge rock. I had a blackboard and I was teaching someone. When I looked down, I saw a toddler. But that toddler had the face of my friend - who is a man in his late thirties. So, there I had my friend trapped in the body of an infant.
When I awoke, I couldn’t help but relate that vision of my grown up friend in a baby’s body to the Bible verse in which Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again.” (John 3:3) I also remembered when Paul said: “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3) I related that dream also to the following verses: “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.” (Hebrews 5:12-13).
So, according to this dream and its Biblical interpretation, this person was a new believer, a baby in faith who was not used to hear to the message of God. And, indeed my friend was not used to listen to the teaching about righteousness. This person grew up as a slave of a false religion and a false god. The teaching about righteousness was certainly a tough one for him. But, as this friend was not living nearby and I did not have frequent contact with him, I just started supporting him with my prayers. Day after day I believed with all my heart that every time I knelt down to pray for His salvation, something was happening in the spiritual realm.
I had all God’s promises there and I was certainly binding God to them every day. But time passed by and I did not know anything about my friend. I just kept praying and fasting, supporting him from distance. After two years praying, in 2010 I talked to him and he was as burdened and committed to his religion as usual. I was so sad. How is it that he was still not a Christian after all my prayers and fasts and intercession? Why was he still yoked to Satan if I claimed God’s promises? But moreover, did God talk to me about his situation or not? I had so many doubts in my heart that I fasted for 21 days seeking direction from the Lord. “Should I keep praying for him or not? Did you show me he was a Christian or not? Were these dreams sent by you or not?” These were my questions. And I hanged on to God’s promises.
I claimed Psalm 25:3 “No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame”; I claimed Psalm 121:3 “He will not let your foot slip...”. I claimed Psalm 25:12-13 “Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.” I claimed Jesus’ words: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)
I knew God would not deceive me for Jesus said that: “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? f you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11) So, I was sure that if I was asking God for direction, he wouldn’t send a lie; He gives good gifts, not bad. And I rested on this. But I finished the fast without an answer. But the day after, a servant of God told me that God would indeed talk to me about what worried me. On December 24, 2010 I had another dream with my friend.
In this dream I was making notes, writing down what he was telling me. From everything he said on that dream I just remember a sentence, he said: “My conversion to Jesus was a very long, painful and traumatic process.” In the dream I was in charge of writing down his testimony. After this dream I decided to keep believing and praying for the salvation of this lost soul. Again, I did not have contact with him for a while. When I saw him a few months ago I could see some changes in his attitude towards Christianity. I noticed that he was reading the Bible and I noticed a change of character. Yet, this friend of mine is not a Christian.
Did I pray for his salvation? Yes, since 2008 and I am still praying. Apparently God did not answer. Apparently what I saw in dreams is not true. But I know one thing for sure, and it is that God’s will will be done no matter what. If God gave me those dreams, they will come to pass sooner or later. God is Almighty God and no one can frustrate His plans. I’m sure Joseph thought that his dreams were not coming to pass. Let us remember that as soon as he dreamed of grandeur and leadership, he was sold as a slave and was put into jail for a few years. He was a slave for thirteen years after his dreams. So, not seeing immediately what God showed is not a sign of unfulfillment, rather it is what has happened to all the major prophets.
Does God answer prayers? Yes but not always when we want or how we want. Sometimes He does it little by little and sometimes He makes us wait for the response. But one thing is sure: He will definitely answer. This is why I know that one day I will be sharing my friend's testimony here and we will rejoice in the Lord for this awaited salvation.
"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22)
"And I [Jesus] will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." (John 14:13-14)
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." (1 John 5:14-15)
