The Prayer Course 5 (no audio)
Session Five of the Prayer Course covers the topic of unanswered prayer. All of us have experienced what it means to pray and not have an answer or an outcome that we’ve asked for. As the people of God we struggle and wrestle with this reality in the knowledge that God is good and loving. Today Jesus himself lives with unanswered prayer because he prayed for unity in the church, and that has yet to happen.
As we’ve gone through this course, we’ve studied what Jesus taught his disciples about prayer in the Lord’s prayer. But, for the topic of unanswered prayer it’s insightful to look at Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane in Mark 14:32-36 the night before his death on the cross. He was in intense turmoil as he prepared for the physical suffering to come. In the midst of Jesus’ anguish some of his prayer give us helpful themes to reflect on while we pray.
Jesus prays, “Abba, Father.” He calls out the intimate, personal expression of his loving father which reminds us to hold onto God’s love.
Jesus prays, “everything is impossible for you.” He speaks out the truth of God’s vastness and sovereignty which reminds us to hold onto God’s power.
Jesus prays, “Take this cup from me.” He knows that he will make the ultimate sacrifice but wrestles with how difficult it will be. This demonstrates we should be radically honest with God.
In the midst of our unanswered prayer we can choose to trust even when we don’t understand. We can be sure that God is still there because His silence is not the same as His absence. We can ask, “Where are you in all this, God?” for He is present in every situation. He hears our prayer even if we don’t get our answer.
If you'd like the view the session on unanswered prayer, here's the link. Or, you can go to prayercourse.org to view any of the sessions and for extra resources.