Why Doesn’t God Answer Prayers? - The BAS Library

Footnotes

1.

Scholars generally agree that a passage like this, shared by Matthew and Luke but absent from Mark, derives from a common source called Q (from the German Quelle, for “source”) used by Matthew and Luke but now lost. See Stephen J. Patterson, “Yes, Virginia, There Is a Q,” BR, October 1995.

2.

See Ben Witherington III, “Bringing James Out of the Shadows,” and Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, “Where Was James Buried?” in BR, June 2003.

Endnotes

1.

The changes could have taken place before the final versions of Matthew and Luke. In this case the two evangelists would have been working from different versions of Q. It is simpler, however, to side with those scholars who argue that Luke deliberately introduced the changes. See, for example, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke (X-XXIV), Anchor Bible 28A (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1985), p. 913; and Heinz Schürmann, Das Lukasevangelium 2.1, Herders theologischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament (Freiburg: Herder, 1994), p. 218.

2.

It is generally recognized that James had access to a collection of the sayings of Jesus in a form that resembles Q rather than the edited form of Q that appears in the Gospels. (See Patrick J. Hartin, James and the Q Sayings of Jesus, Journal for the Study of the New Testament Suppl. Series 47 [Sheffield: JSOT, 1991].) However, the original saying about the prayer of petition that James found in Q emerges radically transformed from his hands.

3.

What gave James the authority to act in this way? How could he in effect contradict Jesus? It seems probable that James found a reason in another passage of Q, which dealt with the theme of avoiding anxiety and trusting in Providence (Matthew 6:25–34 = Luke 12:22–31). It advocates having no concern about sustenance or clothing, and concludes with the words, “Seek the kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”

The first part (“Seek the kingdom”) is clearly a condition that must be fulfilled before God grants the reward of nourishment and raiment. Even though the ostensible point of the Q saying is to give spiritual values primacy over material ones, the inescapable effect is to make spiritual perfection the prerequisite for the satisfaction of any material need no matter how basic.

While understandable, James’s solution to the problem of unanswered prayer is also surprising because he had the authentic solution within his grasp. Elsewhere in the letter he writes, “If a brother or sister is going naked and lacking daily food, and if one of you should say to them, ‘Go in peace! Be warmed and filled’ but does not give to them what is necessary for the body, what is the use? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:15–17). Clearly James expected a Christian to go to the aid of another believer in dire need, but he lacked the empathy to realize that the naked and hungry were certainly praying for clothing and food. The reason why their prayer went unanswered was not because they failed to meet certain conditions, but because other Christians were lazy and unloving. Human intermediaries are necessary if God is to answer prayers.

4.

The initial “Again” is a clear indication that these verses did not originally belong in their present context, which has nothing to do with prayer. Thus in themselves they have nothing to do with the disciplinary function of the community, which is the theme of the previous verses (Matthew 18:15–18). The saying in Matthew 18:19–20 concerns community prayer in general without any connection to the disciplinary function of the community.

5.

A number of commentators understand “I chose you” and “you should go” as a reference to the mission of the apostles (see the list cited approvingly by George R. Beasley-Murray, John, Word Biblical Commentary 36 [Waco: Word Books, 1987], p. 275), which would imply that the saying is not of general application to all believers. In context however, the choice does not take the apostles from among the disciples in general, but rather takes the followers of Jesus from the world. In itself “to go” does not suggest an apostolic mission, but if this meaning is retained, we have to say that the apostles serve as exemplars for all believers. Their mission is one that all Christians must carry out. The petition, in consequence, is not limited in any way. It is the prayer of all Christians.