7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77 http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/when-god-isnt-answering-your-prayer-psalm-77 1/33 WHEN GOD ISN’T ANSW YOUR PRAY (Psalm 77)I s it possible that w been misled into we can solve ou with prayer? What co important than knoc on the door of heave seems to go silent in our requests? In this excerpt fro Folk Songs Of Faith, suggests that prayer m the first thing to do w in trouble. This exper even admits that mor not give us the peace answers we are looki So what should w cIn imes f Doubt (Psalm 77:1-13) 2 hrough he Deep Waters (Psalm 77:13-20) 15
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7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
have a problem withdoubting when your prayer goes like this: ‘O God (if there is a God), save my soul
(if I have a soul) so I can goto heaven when I die (if thereis a heaven).’” We chuckleat this prayer, but when it’s3 a.m. and we are unableto sleep, doubt is nothing tolaugh about. Doubt is painfuland disturbing. It robs us of our joy and peace. It creates
distance in our relationship with God.
Sometimes doubt comesfrom our emotions When
how could You happen?” At suc
may feel disappGod. Our painfu will trigger an atdoubt.
At other timecomes from intequestioning. BibG. Campbell Mo
(1863–1945) prefirst sermon wh13 years old. Thhad no formal t was deeply devostudy. While stihe was greatly sas a Bible teach19, he experien
doubt that nearfrom the ministr
Morgan had reading the work
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
engagements and shut himself in a room with his Bible. For
days he did nothing but readthe Bible from cover to cover.He told himself, “If the Bibleis the Word of God, and if I
come to it with an open mind,it will be all I need to bringassurance to my soul.”
Days later, Morgan left his
room and announced, “TheBible has found me!” He went back to his preachingministry convinced of thereality of God in his lifeand the reliability of God’s Word. Those who heard himpreach said he spoke witha new sense of power and
conviction.Psalm 77 was written to
help people who strugglewith doubt It is the story of a
DistressinProblems
PerPlexinDoubtsPsalm 77 opensof pain. The psa
writes:I cried out tohelp; I cried to hear me. W
in distress, I Lord; at nighout untiring my soul refuscomforted. I You, O God, groaned; I mmy spirit greSelah (vv.1-3
Asaph doesn what his afflictiohave been a terrhis life extreme
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
sorrow and disappointment.Though he tries to focus
on the Lord’s goodness, thepsalmist’s soul refuses to becomforted. He can’t take hismind off his pain.
The writer continues: “Youkept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak”(v.4). He tries to sleep, but
his eyelids won’t close. Hisemotions are so disturbedthat he cannot even describehis problem to others. Thepsalmist Asaph speaksauthentically to humanaffliction. He holds nothingback but describes exactlyhow he feels.
Sometimes we churchpeople don’t like to admit thatsuch intense affliction anddoubting are a normal part of
Many Christi“Now that I’m a
my faith will ansproblem, every dBut the book of testimony to the
is full of problemand no one undbetter than Jesus
Think of His
garden in Geths we see Him perptroubled by whaof Him. He criesFather, saying, indon’t understandhappening. If at let this horror, thpass from Me. Y
as I will, but let done” (see Lk. 2on the cross, Heto wonder “My
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
hard pressed and perplexed,so we should not feel that
we are unspiritual if we facesimilar struggles in our lives.In fact, it is superficial andunrealistic to imagine that
the Christian life can be lived without trials of pain anddoubt. The history of God’speople is a lengthy record
of tragedies, catastrophes,problems, pain, and, yes,doubt.
But thank God that’s notthe end of the story! Thepsalmist cites two things hedoes in response to trials of pain and doubt: He prays,and he meditates on God. It’s
clear that the psalmist is nota mere beginner in the faith.He knows how to approachGod in times of affliction and
affliction, but whtroubles us is th
that our faith maunder the pressuhappens, we notbattle but we los
battles because all that makes li Whenever we arare tempted to d
That’s the tempsalmist faces. Hprayer, but prayeseem to work. Hmeditating on Gbut that too leavempty. Why? Beis relying on prameditation as te
and his problemsolved by techni
A Disturb
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
response? “Pray about it,” we say, “and meditate on the
Word.”I’m not saying that such
advice is wrong. I’m sayingit’s useless advice as far as it
goes. Prayer (as we will seelater in the psalm) is not thefirst thing to do when you arein trouble. Does that surprise
you? Does it seem almostblasphemous? Yet Psalm77 assures us that it is so. When we are afflicted, there’ssomething we should dobefore we pray—but what?
The problem that the writerof this psalm expresses is acommon one: He thought
that prayer would solve hisproblems. He used prayer asa problem-solving technique.Prayer was never designed for
about it” and thahas prayed and
no answer from we have not hel way. That personeven more disco
defeated and wimore tempted tothe Christian fai“Faith doesn’t w
doesn’t respond It’s not good simply to “mudda time of doubt. times that God chelp us grow stroHim. He allows experiences in obecause they are
teach us somethnot find God’s sotrial of doubt, thmay not survive
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
which is more than 300,000times the size of planet Earth,
is just one of 100 billion starsin the Milky Way Galaxy, which is just one of 100billion galaxies in the known
universe! In other words, atany given split-instant of time,God’s universe is unleashingtrillions and trillions of timesthe energy of humans’ mostpowerful invention!
The next time you hearsomeone boasting of human greatness, remind that person
of the greatness of a God whocould create such a universeas ours! It helps to keepthings in perspective.
the reAlityof mirAClesThe psalmist writes: “You
The miracles reveal a power b
human comprehknow many peo would consider miracles to be su
Yet these eventsmiracles have comen and womencenturies that GIt is precisely beevents are superpeople find themevidence of the r
Take, for exa
crossing of the Ris an amazing evshaped the courNations exist tod
result of that supoccurrence. The were rolled backIsraelites could w
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
and the miracles of Jesus. Yet in the days when these
events occurred, even hostile witnesses had to admit thatthey were real.
We see an example of
this in Matthew 28. Afterthe resurrection of Jesus, the guards from the tomb ran tothe chief priests and told themthat the stone had been rolledaway from the opening andthe body of Jesus was gone.The chief priests bribed the guards and told them to say,
“His disciples came duringthe night and stole Him away while we were asleep” (v.13).So the guards went out and
circulated the false story. Why did the priests and
the guards have to fabricatesuch a story? Because the
that. There was that the tomb of
empty. The only why it was emptdid the empty toTo an unbiased
most reasonable was that Jesus tragain.
The God of tha God who creaout of nothing, aleads a nation oby taking them tdepths of a parte
same God openetomb and breathinto the dead bocrucified Lord. H
who displays Hipower among th
the goD o
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
miracles that God did in Egyptredeemed the people of Israel
from bondage and movedthem to a place of usefulnessfor God in the Land of Promise. The miracles that
Jesus did in the Gospels—thetransformation of water into wine, the healings, and thefeedings—were all designedto impress people with truthsthat would transform theirhearts and redeem their lives.
The miracle of theresurrection was, of course,
the most redemptivemiracle of all, for it was thesupernatural event that madeit possible for us to be saved
from sin and death. In thecrucifixion and resurrection,God paid the price of ourredemption He bought us
The apostle Pau you know the gr
Lord Jesus ChrisHe was rich, yetHe became poorthrough His pov
become rich” (2 Note that phrasesakes.” That is aof our Lord’s redFor our sakes Hand became poosakes He was becrucified.
“God made H
had no sin to bethat in Him we mthe righteousnes(2 Cor. 5:21). Go
made the Sinlesbecome sin in outhat we could beto live for Him J
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
who come to God throughHim, because He always lives
to intercede for them” (7:25).Notice that the psalmist
writes, “With Your mighty arm You redeemed Your people”
(v.15). He didn’t say that Godredeemed the entire humanrace. Those who are God’speople are redeemed; those who are not God’s people arenot redeemed. Redemption isnot just for anyone. No peopleare ever redeemed withouttheir knowledge or against
their will. Redemption is forGod’s people, for those whorespond to His invitation andact upon His Word.
The proclamation of God’sredemptive love demandsa response. The book of Hebrews tells us “Without
can I believe in know if He is rea
Answer: Draw nand He will drawThat is always thof Scripture. If y
and earnestly se will find Him. Th want to find HimHim.
Are you respoGod’s redemptiv your life? Or arein sullenness, wto do something
spite of yourself?mighty arm, He His people, and redeeming His p
I urge you to seenear to Him, andHis invitation sosay with the psa
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
to faith and triumph. Now inthe closing lines of Psalm 77
he writes:The waters saw You, OGod, the waters saw Youand writhed; the very
depths were convulsed.The clouds poured downwater, the skies resoundedwith thunder; Your arrowsflashed back and forth.Your thunder was heardin the whirlwind, Your lightning lit up the world;the earth trembled and
quaked. Your path ledthrough the sea, Your way through the mighty waters,though Your footprints
were not seen. You ledYour people like a flockby the hand of Moses andAaron (vv 16 20)
sovereign controhuman events a
nature itself. Hethe waters of thesaw God and trebefore His migh
powerful poetic the waters respomighty power of
You can imagof the Israelites wreached the edgeThe Egyptians wthem, and the imsea was before t
plight seemed hothe very thing thIsraelites—the wsea—was afraid
psalmist’s poetic water saw God, and convulsed in
God comman
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
waters, but the waters wereafraid of God. The sea didn’t
dare touch those whom Godprotected with His hand.
There is a parallel incidentin the New Testament. On
one occasion, Jesus was in aboat with His disciples on theSea of Galilee. A storm aroseand the waves beat againstthe boat so that it began to fill with water. Yet Jesus was socalm in the midst of the stormthat He slept on a pillow inthe back of the boat. The
disciples, afraid that they wereabout to perish in the storm, woke Him and said, “Don’t You care if we drown?” (Mk.
4:38).Jesus arose and spoke tothe wind and sea, saying,“Quiet! Be still!” (v 39) And
peril and fear in The very powers
that frighten us aunder the commThe thing you fe
through DePths ofNext the psalmithat the forces onothing but instrGod’s hands. He
The clouds pwater, the skiwith thunder;
flashed back Your thunderin the whirlwlightning lit u
the earth tremquaked (vv.1If you have e
through an elect
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
or human, can operate exceptby permission of the Almighty.
That’s the great truth thepsalmist reflects on as hethinks back to the crossingof the Red Sea.
We see this truth illustratedin the last hours before Jesus went to the cross. Forsaken byHis friends, betrayed by Judas,and denied by Peter, Jesusstood alone and seeminglypowerless before PontiusPilate, the Roman governor. When Pilate tried to question
Jesus, the Lord gave him noanswer. Exasperated, Pilateasked Him, “Do you refuseto speak to me? . . . Don’t you
realize I have power either tofree you or to crucify you?”Jesus answered, “You wouldhave no power over me if it
to God. Nothingus without the e
permission of GoThe psalmist
say:Your path led
sea, Your waythe mighty wYour footprin seen (v.19).God led the s
Israelites througof the sea. The pIsrael didn’t kno was leading them
had prepared thknew what He w As the psalmist miraculous even
a second great trthat we can’t unGod is doing doHe isn’t at work
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
the Israelites did when theyreached the edge of the Red
Sea.In Exodus 14 we read that
the Israelites were camped inthe desert near the sea when
they saw a cloud of dust andheard the thunder of horses’hooves and chariot wheels.Pharaoh’s army was comingafter them. The people criedout to the Lord; then theypanicked and blamed Mosesfor their peril. “Was it becausethere were no graves in Egypt
that you brought us to thedesert to die? What have youdone to us by bringing us outof Egypt? Didn’t we say to
you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone;let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for usto serve the Egyptians than to
It’s hard for mthe Israelites ver
we had been in would we have rdifferently? Whe go wrong and w
the solution to oaren’t we just asthe panic buttonsituations havenprayed, “Lord, thout! I’m trapped You do somethinthat I have praymany times, and
prayer of faith. Tof panic.
What the peoIsrael didn’t und
couldn’t imaginehad planned all lead them throuSea His path le
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
what He was doing. Hisplan, though inscrutable, was
perfect.This is a principle we
all need to rely on in thosetimes when our back is
against the wall, when ourenemies are closing in or theobstacles in our lives seeminsurmountable, when hopeis fading fast and there is no way out of total disaster. Weneed to place our confidencein Him, trusting that Hehas a plan that, though
inscrutable, is perfect. Wecan’t imagine what God willdo, but we can trust that whatever He does will be the
best thing for us, and it willbe amazing!
A reD seA
and my spiritSelah. You ke
from closing;troubled to spHe groaned,
failed, he was to
and anxious to sspeak. He was hquestions aboutcouldn’t answer:
Will the LordWill He nevefavor again? unfailing loveforever? Has
failed for all tforgotten to bHas He in anHis compassi
The psalmist his desperate cirtook stock of hisand depressed e
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
Why? Because he remembersa parallel experience in the
history of Israel, a time whenGod seemed for a while to bedoing nothing. The Israelitesfound themselves trapped
between Pharaoh’s armyand the waters of the RedSea. There was no way outof their deadly predicament,and God seemed to be silent.His footprints were unseen. Yet God had a plan that ledthrough the sea, an unseenpath through the great waters.
He led them out of certaindeath and brought them tosafety on the far shore.
Can you identify with
the psalmist and the ancientIsraelites? Have you everbeen in a situation sodesperate you could see no
Annie Johnsoborn in 1866. Sh
sister were orphaan early age andChristian foster pled them to know
as Lord and Sav Annie was a teeher foster parent Annie and her sonce again. Onlyshe completed h Annie was diagnpainful, cripplingher early twentie
was so advancedcould no longer
Annie suppor writing inspiratio
Her meager earncovered her livinmuch less her mSome friends tol
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
the Christian. Sometimes wepray and God lifts us out of
our afflictions. Other timesGod leads us through ourafflictions.
One of the Bible stories
that comforted her in hersuffering was the story of howGod led Israel out of Egypt.She saw the way God ledthe people through the deep waters of the Red Sea as ametaphor of her own life.
God’s path leads throughthe sea, through trouble and
trial. His plan does not takeus around trouble but throughthe depths of it. You may notbe able to see His answer
before it comes, but whenit arrives you’ll rejoice andpraise Him for the marvelousway He has delivered you
hand of Moses a(v.20).
I don’t thinkany figure of spbeautifully descthe relationship
His people thanShepherd with Hclosing verse of reminds us of th verse of Psalm 2is my shepherd,in want.” Becauis our Shepherdnothing. He lea
own flock, and everything that ourselves.
What does th
supply to His shHe supplies a smeaning and puour lives A shep
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77
sheep out in the midst of wolves, it’s because he wants
them there. It’s the shepherd who supplies the purpose.
Meaning is an essentialingredient of life. Why are
so many people depressedand suicidal today? Theirlives lack meaning andpurpose. Why are alcoholabuse and drug abuse ratesskyrocketing, even amongpeople who are wealthyand successful? They haveno reason for living. They
use chemicals to numb thepain of their meaninglessexistence.
A man once came to
me for counseling. He said,“I have everything I want,but I don’t want anythingI have ” He was suffering
purpose, and a for living. He m
worthwhile.Second, the
supplies love, adesperate need
Our Lord loves gives us everythentails: caring, pand provision. APeter writes, “Canxiety on Himcares for you” ( We matter to Habout our needs
heart of a shephJesus called
Good Shepherdthat what define
role was His sellove for the sheI am the goodThe good she
7/28/2019 When God Isnt Answering Your Prayer - Psalm 77