Keep Asking, Seeking & Knocking by Darlene Burnette

When life unfolds for us and things become hard and complicated, and our prayers appear to go unanswered, where do you turn? Do you go to friends or Facebook for answers, try to take care of things on your own, or do you turn to God for answers?

I am sure we have all tried these things, and I include myself in this. But I have found that nothing works like seeking God’s face and getting into Scripture.

What I have come to discover is that we have to trust the slow and taxing process of being sanctified, which includes trials and suffering. We must trust God completely as we wait for things to change or for answers.

When our prayers appear to go unanswered, it does not mean they are not heard. God hears all our prayers, but I believe He wants to develop a personal relationship with us first. The waiting helps to develop patient endurance within us.

1 Peter 5:7 says,
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” NIV

The word “cast” means to hurl, fling, or throw a heavy load. It is a deliberate action of releasing something to someone else. Have you realized that when you cast or give your prayers to God, you feel good for a day or so? But when our prayers go unanswered, we become anxious and unsettled. However, by going back and forth to God, our relationship becomes stronger and deeper.

When we cast our prayers to God, we are acknowledging our own weakness and displaying our trust in God’s strength and not our own. If our prayers, anxieties, and struggles were all taken care of immediately when we asked, we would not need Him.

God wants more between us. He wants to have a relationship that continually links us with Him.

Matthew 7:7 says,
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” NIV

This passage again shows how God longs for a relationship with us. He will always take care of us. Always.

So the message is this: when we do not know what to do, we need to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking. God will answer your prayers when the time is right, but not a minute too soon.

Lean into God. He is waiting on you.