Hi,<\/p>\n
First, thank you for your ministry and for sharing. I came across your site and read the timeline for when Jesus was raised in three days<\/a>.<\/p>\n I have a follow up question on this post: “Why didn’t God rescue my friend?<\/a>“<\/p>\n The reader asked why God didn’t rescue her friend. I didn’t think your answer directly addressed it. Rather, you answered related questions:<\/p>\n So, I’d like to ask the question again: Why didn’t God answer her prayers? Her prayers sounded fervent and persistent over a long period of time, yet they were not answered.<\/p>\n Jesus says several times ask, and you shall receive, e.g., Matthew 7:7-8. Of course, this is not a blank check; it’s for the furtherance of God’s work, but asking to be delivered to safety from a child abuser would be a good thing to ask for. God is our shield who lifts us up. We call out, and He answers (Psalms 3:3-4).<\/p>\n If God cares enough to know the number of hairs on her head (Luke 12:7), it’s hard for me to reconcile that with not answering her prayers to deliver her from the abuse. The evil-doer does not necessarily even need to be punished immediately, per your response about giving him time to redeem himself: she just needed to get safe.<\/p>\n I know God owes no one answers, and even if He does, we may not understand, e.g., Job & Isaiah 55:8-9.<\/p>\n Are there any Biblical references that help comfort and address why fervent prayers may not be answered? There are many references to leaning on God, having faith, and asking for help, so I can understand why this woman’s faith is tested.<\/p>\n Thank you.<\/p>\n\t I agree that anyone should turn to God for help. We must know that God is the source of our aid. However, you asked why, in this particular case, God didn’t answer prayers in the way and timeframe that you thought they should have been answered. That is something I readily admit that I don’t know.<\/p>\n To answer such a question implies that I know everything that happened, and I don’t. I have a second-hand account of matters that took place years ago. To answer this question, I would need to know how changes would affect this girl’s life and those around her, and I couldn’t possibly know the impacts. Then, there is the matter of assuming that God didn’t answer her prayers. Could there have been answers that she naively rejected? I don’t know.<\/p>\n My point is that playing armchair quarterback to God’s dealings in the world is dangerous because we don’t know nearly enough to make judgments. “I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps<\/em>” (Jeremiah 10:23). Job wanted to know why he, a righteous man, was made to suffer so deeply, but by the time you reach the end of Job, you realize that God never told Job why. He only proved to Job that Job knows almost nothing about what is going on in the world. At some point, we have to conclude that the best thing to do is trust our Maker and His love for us.<\/p>\n God does hear our prayers (I John 5:15) and answers them according to His will (not according to the intensity or sincerity of the petitioner). When He answers, He does so to bring about the best outcome for His people (Romans 8:28). However, the answers come in God’s time, not our own. We must never lose sight of the fact that God controls this world, not ourselves.<\/p>\n Thus, my answer was about what we do know about God’s view of child abusers and why sin is not always immediately punished. I must stay with what I know and not speculate about what cannot be known.<\/p>\n Here are some related materials that might help:<\/p>\n Question: Hi, First, thank you for your ministry and for sharing. I came across your site and read the timeline for when Jesus was raised in three days. I have a follow up question on this post: “Why didn’t God rescue my friend?“ The reader asked why God didn’t rescue her friend. I didn’t think…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[127,1510,666],"class_list":["post-83340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-about-this-site","tag-prayers","tag-sexual-abuse"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33084,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-i-feel-like-god-never-answers-our-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":83340,"position":0},"title":"Why do I feel like God never answers our prayers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: This is probably a stupid question, but anyway I will proceed. Sometimes I feel like God never answers our prayers; thus, why do we pray? How do we know if God answers our prayers? Are there signs that I should be looking for? I just don't understand why we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83038,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-didnt-god-rescue-my-friend\/","url_meta":{"origin":83340,"position":1},"title":"Why didn’t God rescue my friend?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a member of the Lord's church and trying to help a coworker and friend. She has become dear to me, and we've studied the Bible a little. I hope to have more studies with her. She has somewhat stumped me with a tough question. She was sexually\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3620,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-get-god-to-answer-my-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":83340,"position":2},"title":"How can I get God to answer my prayer?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 27, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How can I get God to answer my prayer tonight? Answer: Imagine a small child coming up to you and telling you, \"I'm going to make mommy give me candy.\" You might find it an amusing thought. Obviously, this child doesn't understand who is in control. Or, there might\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33389,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-god-make-hannah-wait-so-long-before-having-a-child\/","url_meta":{"origin":83340,"position":3},"title":"Why did God make Hannah wait so long before having a child?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Today we read about Hannah finally giving birth to Samuel. Why did it take so long? Why did God close her womb until Samuel? Answer: We aren't told why God had Hannah wait. \"Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19454,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-pray-without-doubt-when-i-know-that-sometimes-i-wont-get-what-i-prayed-for\/","url_meta":{"origin":83340,"position":4},"title":"How can I pray without doubt when I know that sometimes I won’t get what I prayed for?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 14, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about prayer.\u00a0 I understand that the Bible states that when we pray, we are to let our requests to God be given in faith,\u00a0 believing that we will receive. So if I pray that God will help me through a difficult time or give me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26937,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-know-if-god-answered-my-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":83340,"position":5},"title":"How do I know if God answered my prayers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question for you: I was reading an article regarding prayer and it stated how we should look for our answers to our prayers. What I don't get or understand is how do we know when it has been answered? 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Answer:<\/h2>\n
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