Prayer | Why Pray When I Don't Get an Answer? A Prayer Series for Non-Prayers - Part 1

Send us Fan MailWHY PRAY WHEN I DON'T GET AN ANSWER?A Prayer Series for Non-Prayers - Part 1Senior Pastor Keith StewartOctober 16, 2022A lot of people have wondered about the title of our new series, “A Prayer Series for Non-Prayers.” What we really long to address are all those areas where people have expressed frustration with prayer - not to justify it but empathize in the same way that Scripture does by showing us examples of how God’s people struggled with the same issues. This weekend’s topic is a major hurdle for many - the problem of unanswered prayer. If you’ve ever struggled with praying in earnest for something or someone only to be left profoundly disappointed, you don’t want to miss this message.SERIES: A Prayer Series for Non-PrayersFor some people, prayer is just not their thing. They don’t understand it or enjoy doing it. Instead, more often than not, they feel guilty for not wanting to pray. They suffer in silence keeping their questions and frustrations about prayer to themselves. If you’re one of the many who has struggled with unanswered prayer, or are easily bored or frustrated while praying, or never seem to hear a message from God, then this series is for you. In it, we’re going to address some of the most common difficulties with prayer and encourage new ways of revitalizing this powerful connection with God.---DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1.) Have you ever had a prayer go unanswered? What was it? What were you expecting to happen? What actually happened? Did it make you question God? How did it affect your faith? What, if any, resolution did you find? 2.) Part of the problem of unanswered prayer is the bad theology that has been taught in churches that lays the problem at the feet of the petitioner (the one who is praying) ie. they don’t have enough faith, they prayed incorrectly, there’s obviously sin in their life. Have you ever known people like that? Have you or someone you know ever been blamed for a lack of a miracle or supernatural intervention?3.) Pastor Keith mentioned some explanations we know about for unanswered prayer; that is, prayers that are delayed, disguised or denied. Talk about or write about your experience with these categories of unanswered prayer. 4.) The power to keep on walking when we are out of hope and have nowhere else to turn is a powerful manifestation of faith. We often reverse the reading of this verse in Isaiah…He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.  Isaiah 40.29-31Even when it is plain as day that Isaiah is emphasizing, making his climactic thought, the idea of “walking and not fainting” the vast majority of Christians invert this verse to make it say we can all soar like eagles. That was not going to happen for God’s people in Babylon and it’s not what Isaiah is saying at all. Why do you think people invert the meaning of Isaiah’s message? Why is it an even greater comfort the way it is actually written?5.) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached about the difference between an “IF” faith and a “THOUGH” faith. Share your own reflections on the difference between these two types of faith. Which do you think is more prevalent today and why? How would you assess your own journey of faith? Did you ever have an “IF” faith? If you did, what changed? How would you encourage someone who seems to only have an “IF” faith?https://www.springcreekchurch.org/#realspringcreekchurch #prayer #pray #answers