The following article may contain information that is out of date. The continued availability of the article is for the convience of the users of this website. Images included in the original article may have been deleted to free space for newer information.

How God Answers Prayer

Written By Timothy Fish

Published 5/21/2009

Sometimes, we wonder why God doesn’t answer our prayers. In Daniel chapter ten, we see this picture of Daniel. He has been fasting for twenty-one days, desiring a better understanding of what the Lord had revealed to him. On the twenty-first day, an angel came and spoke to him. To paraphrase, he said, “God sent me because of your prayer. He sent me the first day you prayed and I got here as soon as I could, but the prince of Persia withstood me all this time, until Michael came over and helped me.”

I don’t know about you, but I have this image in my head of my prayers ascending to the throne of God like incense. He hears my prayer and with the snap of his fingers, with the wave of his hand or with the sound of his voice he declares, “This thing shall be,” and my prayer is answered instantly, with no middle man. God is certainly able to answer in this way—he is the one who spoke the world into existence—but Daniel ten seems to indicate that this may not be how God normally answers prayer. We might also consider Micaiah’s vision in 1 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 18.

Both with Daniel and with Micaiah, we see an image of God sending one of the host of heaven to carry out his purpose. I have sometimes wondered why God has angels, when he doesn’t need them. I don’t know that we have the answer to that question, any more than we know why God uses us when he doesn’t need us. It is sufficient to know that he has created both humans and angels to serve him. Yes, he could speak and make something happen, but in his sovereignty, he has chosen to send his servants. So when we pray, the result of that prayer may be that God chooses an angel to do something that will eventually accomplish that purpose, but that might take time because it might be that Satan sends his own angels to oppose God’s servants.

It occurs to me that though God had revealed very little about the daily lives of angels, they are no more puppets than we are. It appears that they face very real challenges, much like we face challenges. God allows them to make choices, just like he allows us to make choices. Could it be that God tells angels what he wants them to accomplish and then allows them to decide how they are going to accomplish it? If not, why wouldn’t God have sent Michael or another angel to help to begin with?

Now none of this discussion has any meaning to us unless it applies to how God deals with us as well. It makes no difference whether God speaks and make it happen or if he sends and angel, if we never see the angel. But God gives us guidance and tells us what he wants us to do. He doesn’t always give us a script to follow. Could it be that he would rather we learn wisdom and apply it than to snap his fingers to bring things to pass? It could be that in most situation were are many “right” ways to proceed and the choice is ours.

But let’s not lose sight of the fact that we need to maintain a healthy relationship with the Lord. While the choice between the right ways may be our own, it is never okay for us to choose the sinful ways. The Holy Spirit will guide us away from those, if we listen. And lets not forget prayer. However the Lord chooses to respond, let’s not forget that he didn’t even send the angel until Daniel prayed. Along with everything else. The Lord has chosen prayer as a means to bless us. He sees what will happen before hand and he could bless us without us asking, but in many cases, he chooses to wait until we pray.