Sounds of Silence – Unanswered Prayer

Habakkuk 1:2- 4

“How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.”

Do you have an unanswered prayer?

• Do you identify with Habakkuk’s questions to the Lord?

• How often have you felt as if your prayers go unanswered? Perhaps even unheard?

How many of these concerns can you personally identify with?

1. Increased unemployment, leading to widespread poverty
2. Multiple incidents of crime – break-ins, car theft, bank robberies, armed hijackings, muggings, and attacks on farms
3. The escalating cost of living – food, clothing, cars, petrol, accommodation, property, etc
4. Increased danger on our roads. Speeding motorists. Reckless or drunken drivers. Road rage.
5. Retrenchments, the collapse of major companies or business mergers, COVID-related cutbacks
6. Political chaos, including unbelievable violence, fraud, and corruption.
7. Satanism, the occult, the disregard for the institution of marriage, Gender-based violence and even gender uncertainty.
8. The garbage you see so often when you watch TV or on social media. 
9. The Covid-19 virus and HIV/AIDS pandemics. 
10. Other matters of concern

• Join Pastor Rob as he discusses reasons why God sometimes doesn't answer prayer. Click To Tweet

How about you today?

Is there a situation that you have persistently prayed about, but you really feel as if your prayers never got beyond the ceiling?

1. 1. • Can you think of, or share a time when you seemed to get no answer to your prayer?
   2. • Can you think of a reason why God perhaps did not answer?
   3. • Is there an instance where, in  hind-sight, you’re glad He didn’t?
        

Some years ago, my wife, Shirley, was battling aggressive cancer.  One day she found a large hard lump on the side of her chest. Alarmed, we both prayed earnestly the Lord would remove it. “Lord,” we kept pleading. “Please take this away.” He didn’t seem to be listening.

During the next visit to the oncologist, she reluctantly pointed the hard swelling to him, and we waited anxiously for his response. He probed and dug around, then stood back and smiled.

“You’ve prayed about this?”

“Yes, very hard. We’ve asked the Lord to remove it. But He hasn’t.”

The godly man nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe that’s because He knew you needed it. It’s a rib.”

Because of the surgery she had been through, she could now feel a rib where she hadn’t felt it before!

So maybe—just maybe—there’s a prayer that’s not meant to be answered! Give this some thought, or if you’re with others, chat about it.

Unanswered Prayer

Habakkuk’s deep distress was due to ‘unanswered prayer.’ God seemed to be turning a deaf ear to his pleas. Habakkuk seemed to experience silence from God. Have you been there?

What reasons can you think of to explain why God might choose to leave our requests unanswered?

A Monologue

Could it be that sometimes we conduct a monologue with God?

We pour out our problems, list all our needs, perhaps even suggest how He should handle them . . . but we don’t give Him the opportunity to respond. Nor do we ask Him to show us if there is something we should be doing.

1. 1. • If you were less vocal, do you think perhaps God would be more responsive?

If you haven’t yet read the background to the prophecy, please do. It will benefit you throughout our time together.

Over to you:

Study the above list A to J.

Share in the comment below which of these is of greatest concern to you personally right now.