Why Are Prayers Not Answered? (ePub)

This is a book that thoroughly explored the theme of prayer especially the prayer of petition which strictly speaking is the only type of prayer that demands an answer from God. It begins by explaining the meaning and necessity of prayer. It may be said that what water is to fish prayer is to man; for man to live a meaningful life, he must be close to God, and this can only be assured through a prayerful life.
Christ assured his disciples in John 16:23 that whatever they ask His father in his name, he will grant them. However, experience has shown that many at times prayers are not answered as we expected despite the passion with which we prayed. This has often led a lot of people to question the sincerity and omnipotence of God, even to the extent of loss of faith. However, this book explained that indeed all prayers are answered by God. The problem is that the answer may not always be when or as we wished. If that is so, then there must be reasons for that.
Following the request of the apostles that Christ should teach them how to pray, the book established that prayer is an art which when learnt and applied well, will yield more positive results. It began then in each of the twelve chapters of the book to briefly explain the art of praying, especially the essential ingredients of prayer that when lacking, can adversely affect our prayer. It emphasised the obstacles that must be avoided for our prayers to win more favours before the divine majesty. It touched on all aspects of praying including the best time, posture, places, forms and dispositions for prayer. This it did with the help of the scriptural experiences of our fathers in faith including Christ himself. It also buttressed its points and propositions with the sayings and life experiences of the saints and great theologians of the church.
Finally, it was still pointed out that we can never fully understand the reasons behind God's ways of answering every prayer. Also, no prayer is ever a waste, but if we follow the examples and instructions of the saints, we may likely get more of 'yes' to our petitions.