Answered Prayers

A couple months ago, Chris Googled (yes, he googled), "Why prayers go unanswered."

The reasons, according to google (and the website he found) were
1. Sin
``But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear'' (Isaiah 59:2 NIV)
2. Unforgiveness
"If you have unforgiveness in your heart then God cannot answer your prayers. "
3. Lack of persistence
"The best gifts of heaven are reserved for those who persist in prayer."
4. Doubt
"Many others ask but doubt while asking. Such doubts destroy your ability to receive answers to prayer. "
5. Wrong Motives
"God searches the heart². He understands every motive behind our thoughts. Therefore He refuses to answer prayers that have wrong motives. "
6. Not Praying According to God's Will
"Therefore seek to pray according to God's will. If there comes a struggle between your desires and God's will ask God to give you grace to accept His will. Then pray for His will to be done"
7. Not Listening to Godly Counsel
"You also need to note that disobedience to God is a direct result of not listening to Him. Therefore check your life to find out if there is any disobedience in your life. If you find it, confess it and come back to the path of obedience"

Chris has been struggling with his unhappiness with his job for nearly 4 years, worsening in the last year and a half, getting to its worst point this spring to summer when he bailed from the Florida contract (and he bailed WAY too late!). He applied to many jobs and had a handful of interviews, often times getting to the third and final interview, all to miss the opportunity to another "more suitable" candidate. What does that mean anyway?

Growing in frustration and becoming more depressed about his situation, pressure mounting, Chris googled why God was not listening. I don't believe Google helped Chris, as one really never knows why prayers go unanswered. Perhaps Chris was not knocking on His door enough (not persistent) or Chris had the wrong motives. Who knows. As the Garth Brooks song goes, "Some of God's Greatest Gifts are unanswered prayers." Sometimes.

Last week, Chris finally got his prayer answered. He was offered a job at a new company in Omaha. His new title will be a UX designer (the title Chris wanted), a change over the software engineer title he had had since college (although he did many things outside of that title). He is beyond thrilled with a little apprehension since his job now has been his only job since college. But, it is not in Des Moines or in Florida. We do not have to move (boo hoo on the Florida move though. But, I could live without sink holes I suppose).

We are thankful that this prayer was answered, however long we had to wait. :) On September 16, I will be praying for Chris as he leaves for his first day of work. Good luck!