I was angry at God. There were things I had been praying for, praying about, and praying through, yet nothing seemed to be changing. Honestly, it felt like the more I prayed, the less things changed. 

I continued to pray, begrudgingly. I had faith in who God is, which is where my anger was stemming from. I knew God could change things – so why wasn’t He? 

My friends and I had been planning on going to a worship night at a church, and when the evening arrived, I tried everything I could to get out of it. I didn’t want to worship God. I didn’t want to put a bow on things and pretend all was okay.

I wanted to remain mad at Him. 

But I found myself inside a church at a worship night. Maybe God’s voice would break through the thick wall of silence I’d been encountering. Maybe I’d experience a fresh revelation. Maybe my heart would soften under the weight of His glory. 

For the first few songs, I stood with my arms crossed like a petulant teenager. Then, a song began to play about how God always remains the same. Something inside me broke as I sang.

Tears flooded down my face, and the anger that twisted inside me felt a lot like grief. 

You say You are the same yesterday, today, and forever, I prayed. I know You can move in power, I know you can change things…

I cried as I told God how I felt hurt by Him. I didn’t understand why it felt like nothing was changing, even when I knew He could change things. I still don’t understand why sometimes God says yes to some things, and says no to others.

So what do you do when nothing seems to be changing, even when you ask God to change it? 

You keep asking.

It can feel like the worst kind of answer, especially when you’re hurt by what can feel like God’s silence. But Jesus told His disciples to keep asking, to keep seeking, and to keep knocking. Jesus told His disciples stories “to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

Even when I act like a sulky teen, in God’s incredible kindness, He keeps the invitation wide open: To keep asking. To keep coming. And the reason we keep asking and seeking and knocking and coming and crying and hoping is because God is faithful and trustworthy and always good. 

The mistake so many Christians make is praying only when we feel like it, or praying only when we feel like we’ve tidied ourselves up.

But that’s not the invitation Jesus offers. His invitation through Paul is to “never stop praying.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT). We can accept His invitation each and every day. When we are crushed with despair, we can come to Him and pour out our hearts. When our prayers are answered the way we asked, we can come to Him with hearts overflowing with gratitude and thanksgiving.

Jesus believed prayer works. In Scripture, He told His disciples over and over to keep praying. Sometimes we see the direct results of our prayer, but for many of us, we won’t understand until we come face-to-face with Jesus in eternity. Often we can’t trace how our prayers change things, but we can choose to trust in our loving Father, even when it feels impossible to understand.

Prayer isn’t about getting what we want; it’s about getting to know Jesus. When we pray, we are in the presence of our loving Father, learning more about who He is and who we are. Prayer always works because it always brings us into the life-changing presence of Jesus.

Contrary to what we might feel, prayer isn’t pointless. I don’t know why some prayers seem to be answered clearly and quickly, while others seem to go unanswered. But I do know prayer always “works” because prayer always brings us closer to Jesus — and the answer is always Jesus.

In your despair, go to Jesus. 

In your gratitude, go to Jesus. 

In your anger, go to Jesus. 

Even when it feels like nothing is changing, go to Jesus. Prayer is the only thing that keeps us steady when we are drowning, because Jesus is the only Person who can hold us firm in the midst of the ground slipping beneath our feet. 

Prayer always “works” because prayer always brings you into deeper intimacy with Jesus. 

Listen to today’s devotion below or wherever you stream podcasts!

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