Is God Unfaithful? Trusting His Wisdom When Prayers Disappoint
- Jack Selcher
- Sep 25, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Summary
God often appears unfaithful when prayers go unanswered, but Scripture reveals He is faithful though not predictable. Many biblical figures questioned God when His actions defied expectations. Our limited perspective causes us to misjudge what is best. Over time, God’s “no” proves to be loving protection and purposeful shaping. True faith learns contentment by trusting God’s wisdom in disappointment, suffering, and delayed answers, believing His apparent unfaithfulness is only an illusion.
Is God Unfaithful When He Seems Silent or Unfair
Is God unfaithful? Sometimes it seems He is. He frequently ignores our requests and expectations. We do not always receive what we want when we want it. I am sure you have noticed.
The underlying reason is that we do not understand God’s ways and thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Because we do not, our requests and expectations often detract from what is best for us and others in the long haul. And what is best to advance God’s kingdom?
Faithful but Not Predictable
God is faithful but not predictable. We sometimes confuse the two. It is not a new development.
Biblical Voices That Questioned God
About 4,000 years ago, Job concluded God was unjust (Job 19:6-7) and blamed Him for his calamities.
Jeremiah charged God with lying to and taking advantage of him (Jeremiah 20:7-9). God promised to be with and protect him when he was young (Jeremiah 1:8), but it was not happening as he expected.
The children of Israel complained because God provided manna for them but not meat. They did not believe God treated them fairly or gave them what they deserved (Numbers 11:4-6).
Moses complained that God was treating him harshly (Numbers 11:11), saddling him with the problems and complaints of the Israelites. Asaph complained that the wicked prosper (Psalm 73). He wondered whether living a pure life was in vain.
David complained that his enemies were setting traps for him wherever he went. No one cared about or would help him (Psalm 142).
Jonah complained that God was showing compassion toward Nineveh, an enemy of Israel. He was depressed and wanted to die (Jonah 4:1-3).
Misunderstanding What We Deserve
Ray Stedman wrote, “I do not know how many times people have said to me, referring to the word of God, Well, I know what it says, but it doesn't work! That is just another way of saying, God has deceived me; God's a liar!”1
A woman in Africa sent me this Facebook message: “How come you people pray and God answers, but I have prayed, but nothing.”
Sometimes I am disappointed in God. Some prayer requests I mark as same-day delivery seem to get lost in the mail.
Some take forty years to receive a yes from God. Others never do.
God’s “No” as a Hidden Blessing
Looking back, I see that some of the things I asked for would have been as bad for me as smoking six packs of cigarettes a day. God’s no to those requests was His highest heartfelt blessing.
Learning Contentment Through Disappointment
I have received enough of His yeses to feel the warmth of his love. Every one of them was more than I deserved. Some of God’s seeming unfaithfulness flows from an overblown sense of what we deserve and the foolish notion that we always know what is best for us.
I trust God’s wisdom for my disappointing, depressing, inconvenient, and painful experiences. He has used most of them to shape me for a more fruitful ministry to others.
Trusting God’s Long-Range Purposes
I have not arrived. But I am learning to be content with God’s apparent unfaithfulness. I believe that one million years hence, it will be clear His seeming unfaithfulness while we were on the earth was an illusion (Philippians 4:11). See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians. #freediscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources
God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 7,541 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 17,361 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting.
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