4 Things To Do When God Doesn’t Answer

The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision. ~Daniel 9:23 (NLT)

Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.” ~Daniel 10:12-14 (NLT)

We can draw two quick conclusions from the Scriptures listed above.

1. You are precious to God.
2. Just because your answer doesn’t come today doesn’t mean God’s not working.

Notice that the very instant Daniel began to pray, a mandate was issued in heaven from Almighty God…but Daniel had no idea. What did he do? He kept praying. This wasn’t a “one and done” prayer. According to Daniel 6:10, Daniel made it a habit to pray three times each day. This means that Daniel prayed continuously for 21 days before his answer showed up. Did he quit? No. Did he waiver? Nada. Did he lash out at God? Nope. Did he tweet about it? Maybe. Not really, but had his story taken place in 2015 his twenty-one days of tweets might have looked like this:

@RealLionWhisperer Just prayed. #Day1 #GodsGotThis

@RealLionWhisperer Prayers sent. #Day2 #NoWorries

@RealLionWhisperer Prayed up. #Day3 #PatienceIsAVirtue

@RealLionWhisperer Talking to God. #Day4 #TodayIsTheDay

@RealLionWhisperer Day 5. Requesting answer from the Most High! #HeHears

@RealLionWhisperer Day 6. Petition presented. #NoFear

@RealLionWhisperer Day 7. Intercession is the answer when I need #theanswer.

@RealLionWhisperer Day 8. Yo, yo God? #Waiting

@RealLionWhisperer Day 9. I know YOU hear me. #iAintPlaying #iPraying

@RealLionWhisperer Day 10. #iPray #iObey

@RealLionWhisperer Roses are red. Violets are blue. C’mon God, where are you?! #jk

@RealLionWhisperer Missing the lion’s den. Not really. Kind of. #KeepingItReal

@RealLionWhisperer Today is my 13th consecutive day of prayer. Retweet please. #iFollowBack

@RealLionWhisperer I’ve been interceding for 2 weeks. DM me 4 deets. #MuchLove

@RealLionWhisperer It’s close. I hope. #KeepingTheFaith

@RealLionWhisperer Prayer request. #unspoken #NeedAnswerNow

@RealLionWhisperer Go 2 reallionwhisperer.com & subscribe 2 my blog so I can pray 4 u, too.

@RealLionWhisperer I will never give up! #PrayerRequest #Day18

@RealLionWhisperer Praying 3x day keeps the lions away. #ForReal

@RealLionWhisperer Day 20. If life gets 2 hard to stand…KNEEL. #quote

@RealLionWhisperer Dude! ANGEL just showed up! #Epic #WorthTheWait

See how much fun Twitter can be? Okay, you might not be on Twitter but you really can learn a lot from Daniel. The next time you feel like your prayers are getting stuck to the ceiling this will help.

4 Things To Do When God Doesn’t Answer

1. Keep Praying

Daniel was instructed to quit praying or be thrown into a lion’s den. If that deadly threat didn’t stop him from praying, do you think an unanswered prayer would stop him? No way.

The devil wants you to stop praying. Don’t.

2. Keep Listening

Sometimes the answer does come but we aren’t paying attention. Don’t stop listening. God-moments and divine appointments are easy to miss because of busyness and frustration.

3. Keep Waiting

Too many people miss out because they quit right before the breakthrough. Don’t be one of them.

4. Keep Moving

Don’t get complacent. Don’t put your life on hold while you wait. God is moving behind the scenes. You gotta keep putting one foot in front of the other. Carry on!

The following is a short video devotional that reinforces this. Enjoy.

#41Clicks is a raw, daily video devotional (under one minute) I’m producing for 41 consecutive days. Click HERE to view additional episodes.