WHY OUR PRAYERS REMAIN UNANSWERED
Yahya Abdul Rahman - Oct 27, 2006
I want to tell you something that may sound shocking at first, but it is the honest truth. The number one reason why our prayers are consistently not being answered is that we don't believe they will be answered. I will say it again, the NUMBER ONE reason why our prayers are consistently not being answered is that we don't believe they will be answered.
Oh yes, we all offer up prayers on a daily basis regarding a variety of issues, but there is no real solid conviction that those prayers will be fulfilled, and there may even be doubts that they were heard in the first place. We may even come to the conclusion that God no longer cares about us or that we are unworthy to have our prayers anwered - so we throw up our hands in defeat.
I want to let you in on a little secret. For your prayers to be answered you must adhere to the following five principles which I refer to with the acronymn W-A-F-B-E:
1) WANT: You must sincerely want that which you are asking for, and not just play lip service to it. In addition, you must be specific about what you want. Think about this deeply and then write it down on a piece of paper in order to achieve greater clarity of mind and a clear intention.
2) ASK: You must ask and be as specific as possible. Don't only ask with your mouth, but allow the desire for that which you seek to permeate your entire being.
3) FEEL: This is the hardest but most important part. You must allow yourself to feel in your body that the prayer you have made has already been answered. You must literally feel in your body the emotion of having that which you desire to come into fruition. It is a good idea that once you make the prayer that you write it down as if the prayer as already been fulfilled. Allow yourself to experience the exhiliration of having your prayers answered. You can write: "My prayer of _____________ has been answered and I am truly thankful." Read it to yourself over and over again until the feeling of it courses through your veins. I cannot emphasize enough that you must truly believe with full conviction that your prayers will not only be answered, but that they have already been answered.
4) BELIEVE: Don't try to figure out how your prayers will be answered as this will create mental blocks between your desires and their fulfillment as well as fostering doubts. Just trust that your prayers have been heard and that the One who has heard them is all powerful and will orchestrate conditions in such a manner that your prayers will become a reality. Trying to figure it out the "hows" is a sign of doubt and a desire for control. One must learn to let go and allow things to unfold so that the subject of their prayers can become manifest. Think about the following Quranic verse:
"And We inspired the mother of Musa, saying: "Suckle him (Musa), but when you fear for him, then cast him into the river and fear not, nor grieve. Verily! We shall bring him back to you, and shall make him one of (Our) Messengers." (28: 2-7 Quran)."
Yet despite how improbable this command sounds we all know the story of the outcome and how Musa's mother's obedience and trust in God eventually led to the liberation of the Hebrew people from Egyptian bondage. Or consider this bit of information Yusuf told his father while he was still a young lad:
"O my father! Verily, I saw (in a dream) eleven stars and the sun and the moon, I saw them prostrating themselves to me." (12:4 Quran)
How could such a dream come to pass? It is not only illogical, as far as human understanding is concerned, but is in fact impossible. But we know that indeed the dream did in fact come to pass.
There is a time when it is necessary to suspend all reason- even when things look rather bleak- and just learn to trust. Obsessing or worrying will also create further barriers between your prayers and their fulfillment, for your tongue says you believe but your heart says otherwise. We must truly believe and act in such a way that there are absolutley no doubts within us. When we arrive at this point we are truly a recpient of our previously unanswered prayers. Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "The invocation of anyone of you is granted (by Allah) if he does not show impatience (by saying, "I invoked Allah but my request has not been granted.") (Bukhari). And the Quran states:
"Man does not weary of asking for good (things), but if ill touches him, he gives up all hope (and) is lost in despair." (41:49 Quran)
5) ENJOY: That is your prayer or desire becoming manifest into your reality. You must open yourself up to enjoy that which you have sought. Pathways and avenues will open up for your prayer's fulfillment. Take hold of those opportunities when they come along. In addition, always be thankful when you become a recpient of your heart's desire. Remaining in a state of thankfulness for what you already have will make you a more likely recipent for even more answered prayers. The Quran says:
"When trouble toucheth a man, He crieth unto Us (in all postures)- lying down on his side, or sitting, or standing. But when We have solved his trouble, he passeth on his way as if he had never cried to Us for a trouble that touched him! thus do the deeds of transgressors seem fair in their eyes!" (10:12 Quran)
Remember, our Creator is all merciful and only wants what is best for us. He wants us to believe and when we truly do, our prayers will indeed become a reality and not merely an empty supplication with no real conviction. Such prayers always remained unanswered.