Back in 2004 I read Greg
Boyd’s book, God at War, much of which I found worth reflecting on. (I later stopped reading his books because he leaned more and more to Open Theism, which didn't seem to me to line up with Scripture, but at this point he wasn't so focused on it.)
At the time I made a list of nine factors he says we should keep in mind when praying. These are not things to become discouraged about but rather to be encouraged about. They are things we should take into consideration when praying, especially when we get frustrated by seeming to pray over and over for people and situations and still see no apparent results.
- Sometimes it’s God’s
will for a prayer not to get answered.
- Sometimes it’s a lack of faith on the part of those involved.
- Sometimes it’s a lack
of faith on the part of those praying.
- Sometimes we lack
persistence.
- Sometimes it’s an advantage to have others praying
with us.
- Sometimes it’s the
problem of free will getting in the way. God will not act against someone’s
free will.
- Sometimes it’s
angelic free will, in that principalities and powers are acting ‘against’ God’s
answering.
- Sometimes it’s a matter
of strength and numbers in the spiritual battle going on in the spiritual
realm.
- Sometimes it’s the
presence of sin.
I'm not entirely sure about number six. I believe God can still work in spite of someone's free will, not necessarily going against it, but by coming in at an oblique angle, as it were!
All these things
show that prayer is answered, but not necessarily answered quickly, or in the way we've asked, or without complexity. And of course, 'No' is an answer.
We may never know in this life why prayers are or are not answered. In some
cases we will find out –but it’s not always a matter
of working in the dark, even though often this will be the case.
