Dear Dr. Standley: (Unanswered Prayers - St. Jude Novena)
I prayed a novena to St. Jude for 9 days straight and for exactly as it said on the paper, but I got no response. I prayed for a sign. On the paper, it said that my intention will be answered either before or on the ninth day. I went to church every day for the nine days and left the nine copies. It also said that it has never been known to fail. I also read on your website about how it takes 40 days for God to change things. Please give me some insight.
Thanks,
Y. [posted 3/27/06]
Dear Y:
Please note that I lean on the side of directness and have a tendency to be rather blunt. Having said that, e-mail does not reflect the tone in one's voice; therefore, please know I am sending this e-mail to you in a gentle tone and with pure intentions in order to help you get to the place that you desire to be.
Prayer is about standing in Faith with a firm belief that God knows what we need and in the timing that we need it. He sees your heart. Prayer and Novenas are not about going through the motions and if you leave pieces of paper with intentions that it will be enough.
It is about praying having full Faith in God that He will deliver and has your back. It does sound to me as if you went through the motions and your belief is clouded with fear and doubt.
You may be learning a lesson right now in either you believe He has you covered or you do not. God is not testing you or making you learn a lesson . . you are doing this to yourself. Does that makes sense?
God always used 40 days a time or trial and probation. During this 40 days are you going to continue to pray? Are you going to continue to go to church? Or was all of this just going through the motions in order to receive.
I know this sounds like a tough e-mail, but I mean it in the gentlest way.
Use this time to believe firmly. I have went through some horrible times in the recent past and did not receive what I thought I needed in the time line that I wanted. But what I did receive was insight and knowledge that I was not any more prepared to receive what I was praying for than I was before I prayed for it.
I turned my energies toward preparing for what I prayed for and getting my Life together so that God would bless me when He saw I was behaving appropriately to receive.
It is kind of like a child asks for $10 and then loses the money. Would you be inclined to give the child another $10 if the child can not handle it?
If a child is 16 years old and has wrecked the car several times, would you be inclined to give him/her the keys to your car? Or would you wait to give the child the keys until he/she proved they were old enough to handle the car and drive safely.
Show God that you are ready to handle what you ask for. Show Him. Behave appropriately and prepare to be blessed. Do not sit back and wait. Do something constructive and prepare for Him to bless you.
A Bazillion Blessings~ Dr. Standley
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Dear Dr. Standley: (Unanswered Prayers - St. Jude Novena)
Dear Y: