Why I Trust God Even if My Prayers Go (Seemingly) Unanswered

I love the story in the Bible of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego not really because they were miraculously delivered from a fiery furnace, but because they trusted in God’s goodness even if rescue was not the outcome (Daniel 3).

From the time that they were taken as captives by the Babylonians, these three young men exhibited unshakeable faith in God in all things. They refused to bow down to the King of Babylon’s idol, even when the king threatened to kill them if they did not bow down. And when they continued to refuse and the king’s anger grew, their faith remained steadfast, even when they were dragged to the fiery furnace for disobeying the king’s order to bow down to his idol.

Scripture tells us that the king was so furious, he requested that the furnace be made seven times hotter than what is typical. Even still, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego told him, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

The way these men held to their faith even as they were being thrown into the fiery furnace, is what grabs my attention every time I read that story.

For me, the most moving phrase in the story is, “But even if He does not.”

If we’re being honest, most of us would admit that when we pray about the trials and struggles in our lives, we pretty much stick to, “God, please take this thing away from me and save me from this struggle.” Unlike the three young men who were rescued from the fiery furnace, we don’t leave open the possibility that maybe God has something better for us on the other side of our trial. More often, we just want the tough situation to disappear. This attitude not only limits our understanding of what God might have planned for our lives, but it makes us more likely to be angry at Him if things turn out differently from what we’d hoped for. By praying to simply be removed from the trial, we may be asking to be removed from the opportunity that God has for us to learn to become the person He wants us to be and grow in our relationship with Him through the trial.

Although God answered the boys’ prayer of rescuing them from the furnace, they still had to go through the fire, and God was with them through it all, and it brought tremendous glory to God as the multitudes of leaders watched these boys’ steadfast faith in God, and the way God rescued them from the furnace , I have personally experience what it is like to not have your prayer answered exactly as you asked while receiving something even better in return.

Everyone who knows my daughter Linley knows her to be the kindest, sweetest person in the world. She is my inspiration, and many who know her would say the same. But when Linley was born, she had an intolerance to milk. Obviously, babies need milk to live, so my wife and I took her to the doctor to see what could be done. Unfortunately, we were given an inexperienced doctor who mistakenly used adult-sized instruments on my 2-month-old precious girl. Linley began to throw up and aspirate; she was in intensive care for months.

Eventually, the doctors advised us to make funeral arrangements and prepare for her impending death.

I prayed and prayed for total healing for Linley, and she is still with us today. But she lives with severe physical and mental disabilities now from the aspiration and drugs given to her to help revive her. I didn’t plan for a life with a special-needs child when my wife and I found out we were expecting, but thankfully, the Lord did.

It has taken me many, many years to understand that God did indeed have a different plan for my daughter. It is certainly different than the plan I had for her, and there are still times of pain and suffering that she, my wife, my son, and I, all endure as we think about what life could have been for Linley. And I am not telling you I have all the answers about why. But what I can tell you is there is now not a doubt in my mind that God has used our daughter in a way that has blessed the lives of each of us and many others for the better; my relationship with God is closer than ever before because of Linley.  

I’m far from perfect when it comes to prayer, but using the model exhibited by those three Hebrew men and the experience from my own life as being Linley’s dad, I pray a little differently now. Of course, I still ask God to help me overcome trials and to make things easy, but I also accept that He might have something good for me or something to teach me amidst the pain, and I ask Him to show me what that might be, and that His will be done.

It’s not if trials will come, but when. So the next time you are faced with adversity, pray like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, trusting that God will join you in the furnace, wherever it is. God will not only see you through the trial, but He will bring you out the other side a better person and in a closer relationship with Him, if you let Him.