Unanswered prayers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Holland
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
H

Holland

Guest
I have a family member that has made some really bad choices in her life. I pray every day that God will enter her life and she will change what she is doing. I have been praying for her for a VERY LONG TIME. This is getting to be very frustrating because nothing seems to help her. I know this seems like an odd question but how long should I continue to pray for her? Is it because I am praying for the wrong thing? Do I need to pray more? Anyway, this is very heart breaking to watch and I just don’t understand why my prayers have gone unanswered.
 
God hears all prayers. I am sure God has entered her life, but perhaps she said No to him. Maybe pray for God to change her heart and lead her to be with him in heaven some day. If all you can do is pray, don’t stop. Is there anything else you can do?
 
Well, the first reason I thought of was free will. Everyone has the right to choose or reject God. Maybe He has given her the graces necessary and she choose not to take advantage of them. Or maybe the time is not right–she may still have a lesson to learn where she is now. Don’t give up though. Keep praying. God’s timing is not our timing.
 
Your words remind me of St. Monica. Her constant prayer s and intercessions brought about the conversion of her pagan husband, mother-in-law and finally her son Augustine.

Not only did her son Augustine return to the Catholic faith, but he became a Saint! St. Augustine. St. Monica prayed for years and years. She constantly asked the Priests to pray for her son. She never gave up.

I’ve heard to pray for someone special while they are asleep because they are more open to the Holy Spirit and not resisting due to free will.

I;ve also been told by a devout nun that God works starting with the persons heart and works slowly outward.

God Bless You. St. Monicas:) way is through patience, endurance, charity and prayer.
 
Holland said:
I just don’t understand why my prayers have gone unanswered.
Click to expand...
No prayer to God goes unanswered. God hears even the faintest groaning in our hearts. What we all must realize is that it may be that we can live a whole lifetime (however long that is) and die and never see with human eyes the results of our prayers. Some things just aren’t meant for us to see but that doesn’t mean we should stop praying. Keep on praying for your loved ones…God hears you.:gopray:
 
SORROWS said:
Your words remind me of St. Monica. Her constant prayer s and intercessions brought about the conversion of her pagan husband, mother-in-law and finally her son Augustine.

Not only did her son Augustine return to the Catholic faith, but he became a Saint! St. Augustine. St. Monica prayed for years and years. She constantly asked the Priests to pray for her son. She never gave up.

I’ve heard to pray for someone special while they are asleep because they are more open to the Holy Spirit and not resisting due to free will.

I;ve also been told by a devout nun that God works starting with the persons heart and works slowly outward.

God Bless You. St. Monicas:) way is through patience, endurance, charity and prayer.
Click to expand...
Took St Monica 30 or 40 years to see the fruit of her prayers.

As St Ambrose said to her ‘it is impossible that the child of so many tears will be lost’ :love: so take heart.
 
LilyM said:
Took St Monica 30 or 40 years to see the fruit of her prayers.

As St Ambrose said to her ‘it is impossible that the child of so many tears will be lost’ :love: so take heart.
Click to expand...
And I thought I had been praying for a long time. I guess all I can do is be kind to her and KEEP PRAYING!
 
By all means keep on praying.

"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

Do the Rosary for her. Rosary is the most powerful prayer. Ask our Holy Mother to intercede. No prayer is wasted. All prayers accumulate.

God bless!
 
If she is doing things that are ultimately harmful to her or others, I would not only pray that God would guide her but I would also reach out to her in reality with your love and your carefully chosen words. When people do things that we know are bad for them or others, they are motivated to do those things by something. If you can determine what it is in this case, you might be able to lead her gently to another way, a way that either includes God or doesn’t include God. She can be led from a bad thing without her having explicit faith in God, is what I mean by saying “or doesn’t include God.” The goal is to address what motivates her to do something harmful in love. Her faith is another question. If she doesn’t now believe in God, it could take years for her to come to faith and then realize she is doing wrong. So I guess I’m saying that I would keep praying for God to guide her (I wouldn’t pray for anything more specific, actually) and I would personally address the issue psychologically if I could. If I couldn’t, I would try to talk to her gently and perhaps suggest getting professional help. Of course, I have no idea what’s she’s doing, but it sounds as if God has a message for you here – He wants to use you to help your family member.
 
ThisOne said:
If she is doing things that are ultimately harmful to her or others, I would not only pray that God would guide her but I would also reach out to her in reality with your love and your carefully chosen words. When people do things that we know are bad for them or others, they are motivated to do those things by something. If you can determine what it is in this case, you might be able to lead her gently to another way, a way that either includes God or doesn’t include God. She can be led from a bad thing without her having explicit faith in God, is what I mean by saying “or doesn’t include God.” The goal is to address what motivates her to do something harmful in love. Her faith is another question. If she doesn’t now believe in God, it could take years for her to come to faith and then realize she is doing wrong. So I guess I’m saying that I would keep praying for God to guide her (I wouldn’t pray for anything more specific, actually) and I would personally address the issue psychologically if I could. If I couldn’t, I would try to talk to her gently and perhaps suggest getting professional help. Of course, I have no idea what’s she’s doing, but it sounds as if God has a message for you here – He wants to use you to help your family member.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice. This has been going on for about 12 years now and myself and other family members have tried all the things you have mentioned and more. That’s what makes the situation so frustrating, nothing seems to work. To make matters worse she has 2 young kids involved in all the havoc.
 
We must always keep praying even when we think all hope is lost. Some conversions take place at the last instant before death. St Anthony tells of a change of heart in the instant while a rider was falling off his horse and being killed by the fall.

All things are possible with God, keep on asking and believe as if the request is already granted. That is what Jesus tells us. I’ve been praying for my wifes conversion for over 20 years, and I expect I’ll be praying for it much longer than that. But I know God will not disappoint me, I may not see it happen but I firmly believe it will happen even if it is at the instant before her time is up. God never disappoints those who love and trust Him.

I’ve come to believe God is notorius for doing things at the last moment if only to make things more dramatic.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top