If someone has a crisis of faith, it is usually related to some kind of unanswered prayers. This could be the biggest barrier to really developing that intimate relationship that God desires with us. Although we are always striving to discover God’s will for us, we will never fully understand His ways. At least not in our earthly lives. So there will likely be times that God’s decisions for us are difficult to understand, which can lead to a feeling of unanswered prayers.
Have there been times in your life when you felt that God was ignoring your prayers? Of course we all know that God provides exactly what we need, and he knows what is best for us, even better than we can ever understand. But KNOWING that is quite different than FEELING it, especially when times get tough.
So how do you get through those moments? What do you do to draw yourself closer to God and receive His healing love? Do you have strategies that help? Or do you have particular people in your life who help you stay faithful, even through difficult times?
If the stories of St. Anne and St. Joachim are true, they spent years with an unanswered prayer for a child. They responded with sincere and intense prayer, and their prayers were eventually answered. I believe they were chosen as patrons of unanswered prayers because of their ability to remain always faithful.
Lord, help us to remember the example of St. Anne who stayed faithful and continued to pray until her prayer for a child was answered so beautifully in the immaculate conception. Guide us to remain always faithful, even it seems that we have unanswered prayers.