What If God Doesn't Answer My Prayer?

    We went to a wedding and left our dog, a 3.5 year old black Cocker Spaniel with a dog sitter. She got sick while we were gone and died 20 days later. The veterinarian did numerous tests and all came back normal. We gave her medicine the vet thought would help, and we prayed...hard. We had many people praying. Our dog was smart, loyal, and caring. She really was a special member of our family. But she died, despite all our efforts, money, and prayers and we were left with no answers as to why she died. 

    This event left my husband and I with many questions and we ruminated on them together and separately. We cried and poured out our questions to God. But no answers were forthcoming. A friend was upset too and she questioned me, "If God already knows the outcome, why should I pray?" She was upset too, that she had prayed and God had not answered her prayers in the affirmative for our sweet pup. 

    How do you reconcile your prayers with God's outcomes, when they do not match up? Dr. Charles Stanley, was a pastor on television, that I used to listen to a lot and one thing he used to say went something like this, "Rather than ask God, 'Why did this happen?' ask Him, 'What do you want me to learn through this happening?'" An event, no matter how awful, is a circumstance in our lives, but our response to it can be eternal. How so? Many people, who have terrible circumstances occur in their lives, blame God and as a result, they refuse to accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as their Lord and Savior. So when they die, (without asking Christ Jesus to forgive them of their sins and save their souls) they don't go to heaven, because they chose to have no relationship with God. 

    We can't let Satan cause us to doubt God and lose our salvation or our sanctification. The devil wants us to believe that God is the initiator of death, destruction, and disaster, but what does the Bible tells us about Satan in John 10:10, "The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Also in John 8:44, Jesus said, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is not truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." 

    I have to recognize that the event is a circumstance, a challenge to face, either with God or without Him. God allowed it to happen, but most likely didn't cause it to happen, but either way what end result will I make out of it? Will I believe when Satan tells me God is evil and wants to cause me pain? Satan wins! Will I shrink back from life and just become bitter and unproductive for God? Satan wins! Will I ask God into my pain and suffering and pray that He will show me how to grow in it and become more like Him due to it? God wins, thus I win, presently and eternally. 

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son (Jesus Christ), that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.