Sometimes, God is silent.

Sometimes we pray, and our prayers are seemingly falling on deaf ears...or no ears at all. We want something; it doesn't come. We question something; yet we get no answers.

But other times, God speaks. He shouts. He pushes us in a direction we need to go. His voice can be heard, and we have no doubt. We have all we want and need.

So what is the difference? If God is constant and always the same, why is his responses seemingly inconsistent? ...I guess the only answer would be because WE are inconsistent...

Silence from God ~
    Is there sin on your heart?
Yeah. Yeah there is.
    - Bitterness
    - Anger
    - Not loving purely; lust
    - Doubt
    - Unthankfulness.

I ask for forgiveness. I know I can't change on my own, I don't know how to pray, so I ask God to show me. I know I can't ask for anything until I am right with God. For some reason - perhaps God's seeming silence - I feel that there is a wall between me and God. But if we are in Christ, all is forgiven...? I have so much to learn.

So be thankful - God deserves praise. This is also something I struggle with, because currently, I am having a hard time believing that we need a savior, because God created us. Why would we need a savior if we didn't choose this? Is this a prisoner of war type of deal?

We must pray according to God's will. If we don't, God will not answer. This is another area of question, because if God is going to do according to his will anyway, why do we ask? No, I know why we ask. It is to see his power displayed through our faith. We know God *can* do it, and our prayers are with good motives, but he won't necessarily do it unless he has prayers from his people. Maybe this is why the world is so corrupt. His people are not praying because they believe what I just argued.

So why does God occasionally answer the prayers of sinners? To show his glory?
Why does he choose to answer some prayers? Are some just not in his will?

So how do we know his will? It is by the Bible. So we can pray with authority. We can pray, confident that God will hear us and answer us, but we must know what he says and what he requires of people in order to choose to hear or answer our prayers. This is why it is important to know scripture.

How must we pray?
Without sin in our hearts...
According to God's will...
With faith...
Without ceasing...
About everything...

I could look up the verses, but I am done. Those are the things that come to my head, and so if I am so inclined at a later date, here is everything I never knew I needed to know...

http://gospelway.com/church/prayer.php

And now that I think of it, prayer is mostly for us. Yes, God commands us to pray, but it is to give him our worries and desires. It is for him to bless us and change the world...Oh, and yes. Praise. The praise in our prayers is all for him. So God commands us to pray, he commands us to give us all our worries, he commands us...lots of other things that I am not going to look up right now...

No God doesn't always answer prayers, but when our will is aligned with his, he sure does do some crazy awesome things...