Answers For Unanswered Prayer.. page 1

II. We need to remember God’s care and concern even when our prayers are not being answered.
God’s complete answer to Israel’s prayer in 2:23 doesn’t come for twelve long chapters, but notice what follows immediately in verse 24 ? a reminder of God’s concern for his people. As soon as Israel “groans” and “cries,” God “hears.” God is immediately touched by the cry of his people.
The name of “Yahweh” is prominent in the book of Exodus. When Moses asks for God’s name at the burning bush, God answers that his name is “I AM” (the first-person form of Yahweh) (3:14). What does that name mean? Why does the disclosure of the personal name of the God of the universe sound like the old Abbott and Costello routine “Who’s on first?” This name “I am” could mean self-existence; it could mean eternality, but those ideas are really too abstract for what is conveyed in this story. Yahweh is God’s covenant name, and it means that He is the ever-present helper who is there for his people. It means that God hears the cry of His people as soon as the cry goes up.
You don’t have to use a magic formula to get God’s attention. You don’t have to build up enough faith to earn his answer. You don’t have to weary God into giving in. God is concerned at the very moment we come to him with our needs and requests because we belong to him.
III. We need to remember that when we pray, things may get worse before they ever get better.
In the story of the exodus, the children of Israel prayed and things got a lot worse before they ever started to get better.1 In Exodus 5, Moses tells the Pharaoh, “Let my people go!” The Pharaoh’s response was not to say, “Thank you, Moses, for bringing this gross injustice to my attention. I’ll start the paperwork to expedite their release right away.” His response was to take away the straw that the Hebrews had used to make bricks. Moses’s career as a labor union negotiator did not get off to a brilliant start. The Pharaoh became more hard-hearted and oppressive than ever. Right before the ultimate deliverance at the Red Sea, Israel was between a rock and a hard place ? the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army behind them. God chose not to answer fully and finally until things were as bad as they could possibly be.