Part I
Scrolling on social media, my heart dropped.
Another pregnancy announcement… I stared dejectedly at the screen and wondered, “God, when will it be my turn?”
It felt like everyone’s prayers were being answered except mine. Have you ever felt this way?
After months of single pink lines, I grew bitter about others’ announcements. It all felt unfair.
I prayed every month, begging God to answer my prayer this time. God felt far when I kept praying the same prayer with no answer. I wondered if I truly trusted Him or if He really heard me. I thought I was trusting in Him, but I wasn’t trusting that He is good.
Have months or years of unanswered prayers left you wondering if He has really heard you? If He is really there? And that He’s good?
Prolonged periods of unanswered prayers can make it feel like God is far from us, but I can promise you He is still there. I can say from experience that God is there, and He is good.
God promises to be near to us
David repeatedly wrote in the Psalms about how God felt far from him. David knew what it was like living in unanswered prayers while on the run from his enemies and hiding in caves. But he knew God was near to Him through it all and He praised him for it.
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
In our desperate prayers, He is near. Even when we feel the weight of our unanswered prayers more than ever, He is near.
Not only is He near, He is good. In the same Psalm 34 in verse 8, David calls us to “taste and see that the Lord is good!”
At one of my worst moments struggling with my unanswered prayer, God reminded me of his goodness through a worship song about eternity.
The song goes, “What will it be like when tears are washed away? And every broken thing will finally be made whole?” (Well Done by the Afters)
I felt God’s presence near me like I hadn’t before. I felt him saying, “I know you feel brokenhearted right now, but I promise to carry you through.”
God promises to save “the crushed in spirit.”
By remembering that God is God of eternity I was able to see past my current uncertainty. My prayer wasn’t answered in an instant, but God reminded me of His goodness despite circumstances.
Your unanswered prayers can spur you on to being reminded of who He is. He isn’t cruel or unfair. He’s inviting us into His arms, reminding us He has good plans for us—being made whole in eternity with Him. In our wait, let’s meditate on Him and His goodness.
Regardless of the earthly outcome of our unanswered prayers, he is ultimately preparing us for eternity with him.
Dear God, I once again come before you with my unanswered prayer. Please hear my cry. But either way, I surrender it at your feet. Remind me you are near to me even when my requests feel unheard. I want to trust you even when it feels too hard. I want to trust that you are good. Forgive me for not trusting in you. I will praise you amid my unanswered prayer. You’ve allowed me to face a hard situation, but you have a plan, and you will carry me through it. I thank you for being near me and that you are good. I thank you for being the God of eternity.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
The longer it went on the less I thought pregnancy was going to be a part of my story. But when I least expected it, God answered my prayer and I became pregnant. My prayer is that this brings hope to your unanswered prayers.
Below is a poem I wrote on Mother’s Day back in that trying season. Maybe it’s dramatic but I read the Psalms a lot during that season so I must have been inspired by David.
Mother’s Day Flowers
By Britney Froese
Mother’s Day flowers beside me
Soft pink carnations
Purple and white daises
All represent a celebration
Of mothers of many years
And those in the thick of toddler years
Pregnancy announcements pop up everywhere
I want to crawl in a hole and hide
One by one the flowers’ petals will fall
But the mothers enjoying their scent
Will still be mothers after all
Rarely recognized are the trying
The hopeful, the hopeless, the desiring
No harm is meant by it at all
The jokes, the questioning, unintentional
But the childless on Mother’s day
Are desperate to be in hiding
Britney Froese 