What do you do when you've prayed and prayed and God has not said yes?

In this episode of Beyond the Notes, Pastor Russell Howard picks up where Sunday's sermon left off, working through James 4:2-3 to address what Scripture says about unanswered prayer. He walks through five biblical questions to ask when God hasn't yet said yes: Am I being selfish? Am I using prayer to delay obedience? Has God already closed the door? Am I trusting God without presuming on him? And am I willing to persevere? He draws from Exodus 14, where Moses is told to stop praying and start moving, the story of Anna in Luke 2 who prayed for the Messiah for decades, and the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18, where Jesus himself teaches that his people ought always to pray and not lose heart.

The listener walks away with a clear biblical framework for one of the most personal challenges in the Christian life — learning to hold a request before God faithfully without confusing confidence with control.

Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026