Some of the most confusing passages in the Bible have to do with prayer. At least they’re confusing to me.

For example, Jesus said, “…I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Jesus also said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Obviously, those statements are conditional. Both have to do with the Father’s glory. In other words, if my prayer is answered, will the Father be glorified?

Both statements also have to do with being in intimate fellowship with Jesus:

“…in my name…”

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you.”

As I live in intimate friendship with Jesus, I begin to think more like Him. I become more like Him. I take on His desires. I want what He wants. And when I’m asking for what He already wants to do, He grants my requests.

But haven’t there been times you’ve done all you know to do (remain in Jesus, ask with as pure a motive as you can, ask in His name, etc.) and God still doesn’t answer?

Now I want to be careful in what I’m about to say, because I don’t want to give false hope or suggest you’ve been doing something wrong in your prayers…but I wonder if sometimes God doesn’t answer simply because He likes it when we seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6 says that, “…He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”

If you want a child or employee or anyone else for that matter to exhibit a certain behavior, you reward them for it.

I know there have been times in my life where I have sought God with great intensity, but once I received the answer to my prayer, my seeking became much less fervent. And I can’t help thinking that grieved Him. It would be like one of my children eagerly seeking me, but stopping once they had what they wanted.

So I wonder if God sometimes withholds answers to our prayers for awhile or only gives a little information at a time, so that we’ll just keep seeking Him. So we’ll continue to read His word. So we’ll remain in Him just awhile longer.

Let me conclude with this–I don’t know why some prayers are never answered. I mean good, unselfish (as much as that’s possible) prayers. We pray for healing, but it doesn’t come. (I’ve lost both parents despite asking God to heal them.) Some women cry out to God for years, but cannot get pregnant. I don’t know why God won’t answer…or at least answer by saying, “yes.” All I know to do during those times is to try and rest in His love and goodness even though the answer we want isn’t coming.

Whether the answer we want comes quickly, after a period of waiting or never comes at all, it doesn’t change this one truth:

God likes it when we seek Him.

And He promises to reward us.