Q: I’m a prayerful person, but I’m not receiving answers to my prayers. What should I do?

Denise’s Answer:  Many times when you pray for or want something, it can take a lot of continuous prayer. Or if you’re praying for God to do something in someone else’s life, it seems to take a while. I know of a woman who prayed for over twenty-five years for her husband’s salvation, and when he got saved, he was a wonderful, devoted Christian and the most loving husband. So even thought it took a while for her prayer to be answered, what she received from God was more than she ever dreamed of! There’s no such thing as believing too much!

Many people have lived before us, and when they left the earth, they didn’t receive what they prayed for. But that didn’t mean they stopped praying! My mother, for example, prayed and prayed for my brother. My mother has been in Heaven now for ten years, but the changes she prayed for are happening right now in my brother. She didn’t see it in her lifetime on Earth, but the power of her prayers continued! 

The Bible says in Psalm 141:2, “Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” The Lord hears your prayers — they’re like incense to Him — so don’t let the enemy tell you that God doesn’t care! He cares so much for you that He saves every one of your tears (see Psalm 56:8). 

I want to discuss the attitude of faith with you. God is a faithful God. When you’re struggling to receive your answer, faith says, “Okay Lord, I don’t see the answer with my eyes right now, but I see it in my heart, and I’m not letting go.” 

Let’s look at Daniel 3. This passage describes when the Hebrew children refused to bow down before the false idols presented by King Nebuchadnezzar. If they didn’t bow, they would be thrown into the fiery furnace. I want you to pay attention to their attitudes. Verse 17 says, “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.” Look at the attitude of faith they show in verse 18. It says, “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” 

You see, an attitude of faith says, “Lord, I don’t see it with my eyes yet, but I’m not letting go of it from my heart. I will press forward, and I will believe You.” When you put on that attitude of faith, you’re able to receive from God. Say you’re believing for something, but the enemy is trying to push on you to let it go because you don’t see any results with your eyes. But if you refuse to give up and keep your heart open, it gives God the room to continue giving you revelation about believing and receiving from Him. 

When God healed my face, it was such a miracle. I’ve told you this story before. I had a disease on my face for 13 years, and I saw no changes even after I started praying — but I didn’t stop praying. I didn’t stop believing for my healing. One day God gave me such an eye-opening revelation that when I realized what He was telling me, I said, “Lord, I don’t want this sickness! I want to be healed.” It was only about two weeks after that revelation that I received my miracle. 

You see, God holds the keys to your prayers getting answered. He even knows about other people you’re praying for and what and why they’re holding onto something they shouldn’t. Our place as an intercessor is very powerful because maybe these people have given up. But what’s important is that you don’t give up. You have to believe in what God has told you He is going to do! Stick with the truths God has placed inside your heart, pray exactly how He tells you to pray, come against the power of the evil one, and do not give up!