Have you ever prayed to the Lord about a problem and felt your message didn’t make it past His answering machine; that it remains there, unheard, until He picks up His messages at some future time?

There are times when prayers cannot penetrate God-erected barriers; the reasons are found in Scripture. One such instance is found In 1 Peter 3:7, we read that husbands who do not deal well with their wives will have their prayers hindered. At other times, God hears you perfectly clearly, considers your plea, and does nothing. Why? Doesn’t He love you?

If you are a parent, teacher or horse-trainer, you should easily understand why God might choose not to answer. Suppose your 10-year old son came to you and asked what he should do about a problem with a classmate at school. The remedy he seeks is clear to you, but you decide not to share it with him. Why? What might a loving parent say to their son?

“You know, son, this is a problem you will encounter again and again, in one form or another for the rest of your life. Disagreements and misunderstandings can happen when different people come together. I believe you will find the right solution if you think through this situation carefully. Work through it until you are peaceful with your decision. If you try, but can’t find the answer, come on back and we’ll work it out together.”

As a loving parent, you are allowing your child the opportunity to apply the lessons and concepts you have been teaching him for the past ten years. Your children will not grow in wisdom if they never learn to work through problems for themselves. The loving parent asks their son to stretch and strengthen his own ability to resolve issues.

The parent who only wants the problem (and their child) to go away gives the easy answer.

Horse-trainers allow horses to ‘soak’ in new concepts, giving them the time to process and create new memory pathways. Only then can new lessons be built upon the foundation of those already mastered. The only way to determine if a lesson has been mastered is to test the student. Some lessons are just lessons; some challenges are only meant to reveal our level of ability. At other times, trials serve as lessons in faith.

When your prayers go unanswered, perhaps God is asking you to apply all that He has taught you to the problem. Giving an easy answer isn’t always the loving response. He does love you. Try. Grow. Stretch. If you reach the end of your try, He will still be there to call on again.