When God Doesn’t Answer Your Prayer

I’m noticing a pattern in my life. Each summer God puts a book in my lap that I really need and that sets fresh trajectories for my life and ministry. Last summer it was the book mentioned in this post.

This summer, quite unexpectedly, I stumbled upon Jerry Sittser’s book from 2003, When God Doesn’t Answer Your Prayer. During my  1.5 years at Whitworth University I enjoyed having Jerry Sittser as a professor. He was/is a great man with a story of suffering that gives unusual weight to his teaching and writing.

Just like last summer’s book, When God Doesn’t Answer Your Prayer is a book about trusting God. I recommend you read this book, read it in conjunction with last summer’s book.

We want God on our terms, to make life nice for us and to cut a safe and secure path for us, with no hassles, no inconvenience, and no suffering. Unfortunately, there is no such God, and there is no such life.

-When God Doesn’t Answer Your Prayer, pp. 172-173