When asked by someone how we could know if something happened was truly an answer to prayer or mere coincidence, we got into a lengthy discourse. By the end, it all seemed to boil down to what we believe about the following:
1) Who God is
If God promises to answer prayer, what does seemingly unanswered prayer say about Him?
If some prayers go unanswered, isn’t it then possible that the ones that seem to be answered are pure coincidence?
The above two points go hand in hand. How God answers prayer flows from who God is. What God does must always be congruent with His character. If He isn’t consistent within Himself, He can’t be depended upon. How do we know if He’ll actually answer our prayer? And, if prayer seems to be answered, how do we know it isn’t mere coincidence?
We humans struggle with consistency. God, however, for Him to be God, must always be consistent. — “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” (2 Tim. 2:13) We must explain seemingly unanswered prayer in light of who He is, not on the basis of our own limited understanding or experiences.
Be sure to look for subsequent posts that will address these points.
For More: Resources on Prayer
In my mind the answer to this question is simple. Humans complicate it. If God is always the same, and if his promises in the Bible true. Especially the ones about answers to prayer. Then there should never be a question about an answer being a coincidence. And when prayers line up with scripture, there should be even less doubt. Why do we give an omnipotent God any benefit of the doubt? If you pray for a way out of a situation that is obviously not safe, and God loves us and always answers prayer and that prayer lines up with scripture. Why would you not get out of the situation safely? Why would the outcome be negative? There is no gray area here. I have a number of prayers that have not had any answer. In one situation, a Christian had a direct impact in a prayer, prayed over 12 years time. Not ending in an positive answer. I trusted God for the answer. It didn’t end well. And many people have been damaged. There is no time for a positive answer to come forth. It’s too late. Tell me, how faith, how belief can stand up against that.
There certainly are no easy or quick answers to when positive answers to our prayers don’t come, Lori. It’s difficult to assign a reason without knowing all circumstances and even then sometimes it gets down to trusting the heart of God. As you mentioned in the first few sentences, we have an omnipotent God. And, He is also a loving God who is holy and just. He will never contradict Himself in how He answers prayer. Since we can’t see the big picture like God does, our finite minds can’t fully wrap our heads around it. But, if we truly believe that God is God, then we get to the point where we trust even when we don’t understand.