I’m honored to be part of a group of compassionate people who care for a homeless man who is imprisoned by OCD.

We all want to see something big happen--a breakthrough, a deliverance.

He is part of my prayer list. So are Nathan, Dean and a couple more mental health cases that don’t seem to be getting better. I pray for my Grandson, who has had a bowel disorder since birth. I pray for my 20-month-old granddaughter who is deaf in her right ear—it might be affecting her walking. I pray for my son and his wife who struggle with infertility and now in their early 40s have tried and failed for the last time with a medical procedure. (There are many more on my prayer list.)

What do they all have in common? They are major needs that I care about and have prayed about, but the prayers seem to be unanswered.

Sometimes I feel angry. Other times guilty. Often frustrated. Always questioning.

I don’t need to make excuses for God or say something that makes unanswered prayers make sense. Something like, “God has another plan.” Or, “There must be a reason.” Or, “It is a broken world.”

Unanswered prayer in the face of suffering is one of the big issues that challenge the faith of most Christians.

“Why pray?,” we might ask. It is like the huge question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Maybe you have had some of the same thoughts.

So, how do we keep our faith vibrant and proceed with fervent prayers and acts of compassion.

I need to go back to the basics – the roots.

The person of Jesus and his work are Biblical and historical facts that are the foundation to what we believe. We must view all of life from the foundation and not question the foundation based on our circumstances.

Here in the Lenten season, we are reminded of sinfulness and the need for and the reality of a Savior, his death, burial and resurrection.  That is our foundation.

When prayers are not answered as I want, when I want and how I want, I must resist the attack against my faith in Jesus and go back to the basics. Jesus gave us access to a relationship with God, gave us the gift of prayer so we have interaction within that relationship and he listens to and intercedes for our prayers.

So, when I don’t see the answer I want, I keep praying, wrestling, arguing, persuading, repeating, anything but quitting, because I know he is listening.

If I don’t quit, I have hope that God hears and is working in a way I just don’t see yet. I also have hope in eternal life knowing that someday, all will be redeemed and made right.

And the prayer I pray for all the homeless man, my loved ones and many others, especially when I don’t know what to pray is a prayer of St. Patrick. Insert the name of your loved one.

“Christ be with ______,

Christ before ______,

Christ behind ______,

Christ in _____,

Christ beneath _____,

Christ about _____,

Christ on ____'s right,

Christ on _____'s life,

Christ when _____ lies down,

Christ when _____ sits down,

Christ when _____ arises,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of _____,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of ____,

Christ in every eye that sees ____,

Christ in every ear that hears _____. Amen!”

I don’t want to give up on any of these needs or become tired and apathetic in my faith.  I pray that I won’t quit believing for the homeless man and the others on my prayer list, because Jesus invites us to pray and he loves all of us enough to come to earth and die on a cross to forgive our sins and redeem our lives and open up an eternal relationship with God.

Like a dear old woman told me, PUSH – Pray Until Something Happens. So, I intend to keep PUSHing.

Thankful you care enough to be involved, even when you don't see immediate response from people or answers to your prayers. Don't quit. God hears you! Your care matters.