When prayers remain unanswered for years on end, even the most committed Christians among us succumb to despair. As Christians, we still fall short of God’s expectations. We are fallible mortals after all. Our flesh still stumbles. This harsh reality is never more apparent than when our prayers go unanswered.
We become impatient and we fall into the cycle of seeking a quick fix to alleviate our suffering instead of waiting patiently for God to act on our behalf.
Christian Must Endure the Winter Season of the Their Lives
When our struggles seem insurmountable, and prayers left unanswered, some will wail in anguish and sink into ever-deepening valleys of despair—sometimes even abandoning the faith out of sheer discouragement.
Throughout my life, I have traversed many dark valleys which made me doubt God’s love and mercy. The trials I endured seemed unfair to me then because as my friends walked through life relatively unscathed, there I was beset by formidable trials that proved too tough to endure.
Upon reflection though, I’ve realized that most of those trials were self-inflicted, tortuous circumstances ignited by my blatant disobedience to God’s will.
The rebellious nature I displayed then is perhaps surprising, given how I developed a profound love for God at a young age.
At the tender age of ten, I became deeply attached to Christ after watching Jesus of Nazareth on television. I remember shedding tears as His lifeless, blood-soaked body was lowered to the ground amid a somber setting atop the hill of Calvary. As I watched such a heart-wrenching scene, I could not help but feel a profound gratitude toward God for the sacrifice He made on the cross to secure my salvation.
Yet, despite my close relationship with the Lord at a young age, my Christian journey has not been as easy as I had hoped. I often deviated from the path God set before me, failing to seek His approval in every decision I made. Hence, I have time and again acted in defiance of God’s commands.
In retrospect, I have realized that my love for Him was only superficial and shallow compared with what I had imagined.
If tears were shed in His “honor,” He would not acknowledge them as the ultimate proof of our love for Him. God is drawn to our obedience to His will, not just by tears alone.
“If you love Me, obey my commandments.” — John 14:15
My disobedience alienated me from God and I’ve felt God’s heavy hand. Every time I veered away from God’s path, He chastised me in ways I felt were too cumbersome for me to bear.
I clung to Him and sought forgiveness. I prayed day and night, and though He received and forgave me, the repercussions of my actions never abated for months on end.
In utter distress, I walked away from Him frustrated and disillusioned. Prayers were left unanswered. So, I thought, “why bother?” Life’s crushing hardships mounted one after another.
“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him.” —Hebrews 12:5
As I began to sink ever deeper into the abyss of despair, I forged ahead in search of hope and mustered the courage to seek God’s face once more. In the morning and at night, I started praying and reading the Bible again.
One Fateful Day
Then, one afternoon as I picked up my remote control from my desk to watch television, my attention was drawn to a piece of paper adjacent to it. The paper had the number “77” on it. My eyes glued to that number for a while longer than I normally would. I have no words to describe such a strange incident. It was as if my Spirit moved within me as I stared at the number.
At home, I have seen numbers written on sheets of paper without even batting an eye. So, I found it bizarre to fix my gaze on a random number.
Nevertheless, I reverted back to my routine of watching television, carrying on as usual.
I walked over to the TV and turned it on with the remote. Once it was powered on, the volume bar appeared on screen. To my utter surprise, the volume was cranked up to 77. The number suddenly held my gaze once again, and felt the Holy Spirit speak to my heart, like a rhema.
Volume at that level is ear-splitting and can cause deafness after prolonged exposure—thus, I don’t normally turn up the volume that loud.
The video that abruptly appeared on screen was that of Pastor Brandon Holthaus. He was one of the many pastors I listened to at that time to gain knowledge about end-time prophecies. But this time, his lecture was centered on the gripping story of the Jews in the wilderness.
In itself, this was odd since I hadn’t listened to anything he’s taught except for Bible lectures on prophecy. I usually listen to Pastor Charles Stanley or Pastor David Jeremiah for non-prophecy teachings.
Suddenly, my fixation with the number on that piece of paper began to make sense in light of what was transpiring before me. The number was a nudge to pay attention to the Pastor’s teachings on the screen. I became expectant that God was about to reveal the reason my prayers had gone unanswered.
Somehow, I already knew in my heart why God was unresponsive to my prayers before the incident. But as humans, we seek some kind of confirmation.
My Realizations
It was this confirmation that gave me the courage to soldier on despite the fierce trials I faced. I am comforted by the knowledge that God still stands by me. I received these insights from the Pastor’s teachings on the 40 years of chaffing and chastisement the Jews endured in the wilderness:
1. God is transforming me into the woman He designed me to be. Thus, as I go through my own wilderness experience, I must remain patient and endure the testing.
2. God is “breaking” me into pieces so that He might restore me again in due time. Once I learn to fear Him and obey His commands, He will pull me out of the ashes and make me whole again without delay.
But should I continue to be unyielding, I too will remain stuck for years in a state of desolation just like the Jews whose stubbornness prolonged their stay in the wilderness for forty years.
The discipline I received from the Lord was by far the most painful experience of my life, but also the most rewarding. I have learned to accept and embrace God’s discipline with humility and grace.
If you are experiencing chastisement for leaving God’s path, you may find it difficult to bear God’s corrective measures. Nevertheless, endure. Be patient with the chastening until God has completed His work in you.
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” — Hebrews 12:11
Because of the Lord’s discipline, the fear of God has increased in me (Proverbs 9:10). A holy fear and reverence for the Lord has filled my heart.
Life has completely changed for me. I am no longer the same woman I used to be. I have gained wisdom that is far greater than any treasure. I no longer see things through the human lens, but through the eyes of God—and this has made all the difference in my spiritual walk with my Savior.
Liz Pineda is a Christian writer committed to crafting biblically-based content that inspires others to follow Christ. She holds an an English education degree from the University of the Assumption, Philippines. As a content writer and copywriter for online publications, her work has been published on several websites, including ibelieve.com, faithonview.com, and acupofparenthood.com.
