“I called him, but he gave me no answer” (Song of Solomon 5:6)

When your prayers aren’t answered by God according to your time schedule, the first thing you need to know, is prayer that’s according to God’s will, is like prophesy; a statement of what will happen in God’s time. If you want your prayers to be answered, try to find out in God’s Word what He wants, and how He’s likely to accomplish what He wants. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15). “We know” is a statement of faith in God being in control, not a statement of confidence in how and when God will answer prayer. 

 The one thing you can be sure of is “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). You were called according to God’s purpose. Look at the context. “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). Is it your Old Man or your New Man praying? Your Old Man prays “alienated from the life of God ... But you have not so learned Christ ... put off ... the Old Man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the New Man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:17-24). 

 Saints submit to the Lordship of Christ when waiting for God to answer prayer, not because their prayers aren’t sincere or aligned with God’s will, but because they value the sovereignty of God over their own desire, and honor God with faith that He knows what’s best. If you want to know why God answers the prayers of certain saints, it’s because they know what God wants before they ask. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass” (Psalms 37:4-5).