People may ask, “Why does God allow crisis to happen?” or “Why does He allow men and children to die?” or “Why is the pandemic still existing?” or “If He can answer our prayer after the 100th time, why can’t He just answer after we do it once?” This is because God has principles when it comes to prayer.
First, we need to know that for our prayer to be effective, it has to be directed on God’s will. Instead of praying for our preference, asking the Lord for this or for that, our prayer should be that which concerns Christ, Christ’s spreading, the church, His kingdom, and His economy—the dispensing of Himself into man so man may receive Him. Secondly, our prayer should be a harmony of wills of the “praying one” and the “answering one.” To reach the point of harmony, we should pray again and again. Perhaps in the beginning we are natural and we do not know how or what to speak but eventually the Spirit gives us the understanding and utterance and then our will becomes one with the will of the Lord. Thirdly, God wants our prayer to be persistent and constant so that He can add more of Himself into us.
We should never accuse God as unjust. We should never question Him for seemingly not answering our prayer or for not doing anything on behalf of His persecuted or suffering people. We should understand that our God is a God who hides Himself (Isa. 45:15). Yes, He is an omnipotent and omnipresent One but His way of answering and helping is not the same with man’s way. Unlike man, He does not want a show. He does not show Himself when working. He does not operate in the sight of man but He works extensively yet invisibly. Throughout our lives, we can all testify that God is involved secretly behind the scenes in many ways to us.
