That is a very common feeling to have! Emotions are tricky though, and often can’t be trusted. Jeremiah says that the heart is deceitful above all else. Wouldn’t it be just like Satan to have us doubting whether God answers our prayers!?!?!
While I don’t always know how our feelings “work,” I do know that God always answers our prayers (1 John 5:14-15). It may not be in our timing or the way we had planned, but he will answer us. We may not recognize the answer because we are so focused on how we want Him to answer it. Remember, God may be saying “yes,” “no,” or even “wait.” It’s not always easy to discern which one, but trust that He is faithfully hearing and answering.
I believe that part of the solution lies in asking God to align our feelings with His will. My suggestion would be to pray that God would allow you to be open and to see His answer when He provides it. He is the God of all creation, maker of the universe, and His view of our lives is much more clear than ours with an added plus: the eternal perspective. He can see things that we cannot, knowing what will come in the future.
Pray for patience and wisdom, that you will be able to wait on God’s answer, and that you will know it when it comes. Keeping a prayer journal where you write out your prayers to God can be very helpful both in praying with a focus as well as going back later and seeing how God answered your requests. It is a faith-building experience!
I close with a quote from John Piper:
“He really does respond to our prayers. They are woven into the fabric of causes that God wills to be moved by. We do not pray in vain. He is our Father. And when he hears his children, he responds. He is not deaf or indifferent or powerless. He hears and he acts.”
Check out a few verses about prayer: Psalm 37:4-6, Psalm 55:16-18, Isaiah 65:24, Matthew 7:7, James 5:16, 1 John 5:14-15
