Unanswered Prayers

Hey everyone,

A friend asked me last week whether God answers our prayers. She’s been through a lot in life, and wonders If God is listening to her prayers. I wouldn’t have known the answer before, but today I know what happens we pray to God. My experience of doing Hajj has given me a deep insight onto where our prayers go.

There are three things that may happen when you pray.

1. Your prayers are answered immediately.
2. Your prayers are answered later, not immediately.
3. Your prayers are not answered; which means God deems it better to not answer your prayer to prevent you from any harm or disturbance that may come from answering your prayer.

I can hear some of you groan out there. Why would God choose not to answer my prayers? Have you ever been in a situation where something looks so amazing to you now, but then come to realize later that it’s not that great? Well, it’s the same thing with our prayers. Sometimes we pray so hard at a spur of a moment, thinking that a miracle from God will make us happy, but then much later, we realize that what we prayed for was not worth it.

I can tell you when about three years ago I would be praying hard to God to make a girl I loved a lot love me back. I prayed that there would opportunities for me to share my love for her. I prayed that somehow I would get the courage to ask her to marry me. I loved so much so I shared it a with a common friend of that girl and I. I would literally pray everyday. Well, guess what, after about a year having not met with the girl, I was totally shocked to see her again. She was also hooked up with another guy, who was also a not a nice human being. In an instant I thanked God because He did not answer my prayers for that girl and I to hook up. Sometimes, God's best gifts to us are His unanswered prayers!

The one most important thing I learned was that my prayers never go to waste! God always listens to your prayers. God could choose to answer or not, depending on the nature of what you asked for in your prayer. So when my friend asked me that question, I reassured her that just because God doesn’t answer your prayer doesn’t mean He doesn’t care. In fact, He cares so much for you, that in order to prevent you from any unforeseen harm, God doesn’t answer your prayer for your own protection.

Mansur