Year after year, I’ve prayed the same prayer and so far, God hasn’t answered it. I long to see the fulfillment of a dream that He placed inside me years ago and yet that fulfillment eludes me. On top of that, I see others around me receiving the very thing I long for and as I wait my enemy taunts me, questioning my God and my faith. Sound familiar?
Unanswered prayer is something we all face, but what do we do about it?
Hannah was a woman with an unanswered prayer. She longed for a child, but remained barren. All the while, her husband’s other wife continued to have children and regularly taunted Hannah about her misfortune.
One day Hannah made a brave move that changed everything. She stood up in the temple and in great anguish began praying. Her total abandonment before the Lord left the presiding priest to think that she was drunk, but alcohol wasn’t to blame for her outspoken prayer. Hannah had stood up and stepped up her faith. She vowed to give God back the child that she longed for.
“He will guard the feet of his saints” 1 Samuel 2:9
Everything changed for Hannah when she released her dream of having a child and gave it back to God. Not long afterward she became pregnant with Samuel. God indeed guarded the feet of this saint as she stood up and stepped up her faith. Not only did He guard her feet, he was gracious to her. All in all Hannah wound up having three sons and two daughters.
Most of us have unanswered prayers, but not many of us are willing to give God back the very thing that we long for. Instead we cling to the hope of having what we desire and we stay disappointed when we don’t receive it.
Hannah’s story encourages us to take these 4 bold steps:
- Show up at the temple. Don’t quit going to church just because God hasn’t answered your prayer.
- Pray like nobody’s watching. Go ahead; pray with such passion that if someone were watching they’d think you were drunk.
- Release your grip. If the dream is truly from Him then the fulfillment is also His.
- Trust God to guard your every step. As you walk out the bold steps of your faith, trust in Him.
God is faithful; His faithfulness to Hannah proves it. If He has given you a dream, He will also be faithful to bring the fulfillment of that dream.
