why does God not answer your prayer?

Question

God is Almighty. He can do anything. With regards to a painful disease, why does he not answer? Somebody suffering is not good. Imagine if your child is sick, would you just hear him ask and beg and cry. Wouldn't you do something?

Answer 1

You have asked what may be the most unanswerable question that can be asked. I have no doubt that many (likely the vast majority) will dismiss God as myth, fantasy or part and parcel of the "opiate of the masses" when answering your question, which is why Lucifer will have no shortage of souls to enslave.

Personally, I am a believer and so can only share my thoughts, based on my personal experiences with God. I have been inordinately blessed but, like all, have suffered setbacks, tribulations and pain. At times I have felt so abandoned by my Lord that I felt the anguish in the pit of my soul. Yet, at the end of the day, I realize he was always with me.

Our humanity inherently limits us but God has no limits. He knows what will be, what you can bear and he promises that those that believe in Him will never be given more to carry than they can. Yet He must let us suffer; He must test our faith for He has also empowered us with free will. So, our prayers seemingly go unanswered but in reality we have prayed for what WE want, for our idea of an optimal solution. God, on the other hand, has responded in accordance with his infinite wisdom. He has answered the prayer that we should have been saying, that is: "God, let your will be done in my life. Lead that I may follow. In the name of your beloved Son Jesus, Amen." That prayer is always answered! It is our human frailty, our shortsightedness, that fails to acknowledge this fact.

God's plan for each of us will come to pass, despite ourselves. Ultimately, only when we are with the Father will any of us ever know the true answer to the question that you have asked here.

For a fantastic read on the subject you have broached try "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", a novel by Mitch Albom.

Hope my answer is, at least, somewhat helpful.

Answer 2

I think that God answers all prayers, but sometimes the answer is "no". If had a child with a painful disease, I would do research on the disease, or contact people that are researchers on the disease and join in the battle against it. Maybe God is saying "join the fight". I hope this isn't happening to you or anyone in your family (painful disease in a child). If it is, contact me and I will see if I can't help by doing some research on the subject - its one of the things I happen to be good at, fortunately.

Answer 3

Just b/c the prayer is not answered when you're expecting an answer, does that mean that God doesn't hear a person? No, we can't expect for God to do what we want done, when we want it done and how we want it done. Just think of it this way: Years and years ago when people were dying of diseases such as polio, smallpox, and other diseases, families were crying out to God, "Why do you let this happen??" Well, after scientists and doctors discovered how to combat the disease or virus or even bacteria, medicines were created as well as vaccines to prevent these terrible things from happening. The people who died then, didn't live to see this "miracle of medicine." Maybe they were angry b/c God didn't answer their prayers right then, but eventually the prayers were answered for the following generations. We take for granted all the things that God has done to "answer prayers." It just didn't and doesn't happen when we expect it to.

Answer 4

You've confessed a great part of it, God is almighty, he can do anything. But Do you believe it? Do you really believe that he will. additionally in Isaiah 58 it covers another important part to healing, that being fasting. The first half of Isa. 58 covers how not to fast the second covers the proper attitude and reason for fasting: Isa 58: 6-10
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
TO LOOSE THE CHAINS OF INJUSTICE
AND UNTIE THE CORDS OF THE YOKE,
TO SET THE OPPRESSED FREE
AND BREAK EVERY YOKE?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and YOUR HEALING WILL QUICKLY APPEAR;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

Fasting is an important part of the Christian walk, it empowers your prayers, it gets God's attention, and when you do it in secret he rewards you.

Answer 5

Well it is sad in those times. I know many people who have healed by an answer of prayers though. My dad for example. When I was little he went to the hospital because he was turning really white and wasnt feeling well. The doctors had no idea what to do because they didnt know what was wrong; All they knew was that he was dying. So relatives came to see my dad... for the last time. My aunt and uncle came all the way from Australlia (really strong Christians) and said they were not going to accept that fate. They started praying for him and instantly he was healed. God answered their prayers and for that I am thankful.
I dont know why all prayers are not answered. We live in a world that is full of sin and bad things happen. All we can do is to keep trusting in God.

Answer 6

Sickness is a result of the fall of mankind as recorded in Gen. 3. God will somtimes heal people. The Bible says that by his stripes (the blood He shed on Calvary), we are healed. Isa. 53:5. But his does not guarantee that all people will be healed all of the time. If that was the case the Christians who prayed the most would never get sick - or never die. Even the Apostle Paul said he left Trophimus - sick. He told Timothy to drink a sip of wine for his stomach - not prayer. In short, God can heal, and does heal; but healing is not something that will be completely realized on this side of eternity.

Answer 7

Sorry but myths cannot answer. However if you beleive something strong enough yuo could see a change.
If God is as you said all powerful, and heals as the preachers and beleivers say than he must dislike an awful lot of people.The train runs around the curve and hits a broken rail and everone on board "except 1 sinner of 100, men, 100women, and 200 children are killed. He God saved the one person /sinner but for his own reasons allowed the others including 200 children to die.
The sinner with God as his savor goes on to rob, steal, and molest children. So just what does God hav eon his mind?

Answer 8

Our concept of God is screwed up.
What ever we needs is here on earth. We are to depend on each other for what we need when money gets involve honesty goes out the window, so whats real is being replaced by whats not real. It is also cherished more than human life.
God is not responsible for what goes wrong, look at what goes right he is responsible for that. Until we take responsibility for each other we can pray till we are blue in the face if we don't make the change change will not come.
He may set the inviroment for change to be allowed but its up to us to make it happen.
United We Stand Devided We Fall, meant in every aspect!
Love and Respect!

Answer 9

God doesn't work like that, and probably never did. As humans evolved, so did our stories, beliefs, pretenses, yadda yadda...no one knows how things worked way back in the early biblical days. Man cannot find any true evidence that Jesus existed (not doubting it, just illustrating a point) but we believe in him. Same thing goes for God: there's no proof but only belief...

I find this saying ironic, "It's better to believe in something rather than nothing at all..." when in fact there is no proof that these past biblical somethings existed, so does this mean that humans are worse off believing in nothing rather than the something tangible? Just a thought...

Answer 10

God is all-knowing. He sees the whole picture. When you pray to resolve one problem, you just see the one problem. God sees all of the problems of the world. God dose thngs acording to his own will, it is the will of God that there is suffering in the world. With suffering in the world, others will endevor to help the less fortunate. If God answered all prayers, everyone on earth would be just fine, and no one would help anyone else.