Brass Heavens: Reasons for Unanswered Prayer (Tautges)
Scripture offers six clear reasons why your prayers may go unanswered. Learn what they are, and what you can do about it.
Sometimes we’re tempted to wonder if God can hear us. After months or even years of praying over a particular person or situation, we look for evidence that God is getting our message or even paying attention, and we can’t find much. Why is that? Why do the heavens sometimes seem as hard and reflective as brass? Doesn’t God love us and care for us? Isn’t he all-powerful? What’s going on?
In Brass Heavens, author, pastor, and biblical counselor Paul Tautges grounds prayer in the character of our Triune God whose very nature is to share generously his good gifts with His children. Upon that foundation, Tautges then explores six reasons why at times God appears to go silent. As we examine these causes of unanswered prayer, we discover the biblical means by which we may open God’s ears to our voice once again.
God has a good and holy purpose for periods of silence. He wants to test our faith that we might see for ourselves just how weak and dependent we are on him for all good things. His goal is nothing less than to heighten our spiritual sensitivities in order to draw us into more intimate fellowship with him and more faithful obedience to him.
Table of Contents:
Part One: The God Who Hears, Knows, and Loves
1. The Triune God Hears and Knows
2. The Father’s Chastening Love
Part Two: Reasons God Does Not Hear
3. Pet Sins: The Care and Feeding of Rebellion
4. Neglected Duties: When Conflicts and Offenses Go Unresolved
5. Religious Sins: The Trap of Self-Worth
6. Inconsiderate Husbands: A Man’s Failure to Understand and Honor His Wife
7. Stubborn Pride: The Insistence on Going it Alone
8. Testing our Faith: God’s Loving Incentives to Spiritual Growth
Appendix: Ten Things that are True When I Confess My Sin
Author
Dr. Paul Tautges has served Immanuel Bible Church in Sheboygan, WI as pastor since 1992. He is the husband of Karen and father of ten wonderful children, two of whom are married. Paul is also an adjunct professor at several seminaries in the U.S. and overseas, as well as being a conference speaker. He is the author of seven books including Delight in the Word, Counsel One Another, Comfort Those Who Grieve, and The Discipline of Mercy, and Consulting Editor for the Living in a Fallen World discipleship counseling booklet series. Paul is also a NANC Fellow.
Paul is also the founder of Counseling One Another. The purpose of Counseling One Another is to stimulate and nurture healthy, Word-driven growth among believers in Christ, and is built upon the biblically-based philosophy that counseling is the normal work of believers in the context of the local church.
Endorsements
“One of the most painful things about the Christian life is waiting. What do we do while anguish piles up and God remains silent to our prayers? We don’t need platitudes or shrugs of theological ignorance. When we walk in darkness we need to cling to our God. Paul Tautges searches the Scriptures to unveil the character and purposes of the God who is always drawing the praying Christian deeper into faith and repentance. This book shows that unanswered prayer is an opportunity for rich spiritual growth—even when the heavens are as brass.” - Dr. Joel R. Beeke, President of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan
“Few things vex the Christian more than unanswered prayer. Paul Tautges scatters the darkness of our doubts with six reasons for unanswered prayer. He blends biblical teaching with many practical illustrations to challenge and comfort us when the heavens seem as brass. Read this to revive your prayers, to melt the heavens, and to increase your answers.” - Dr. David Murray, professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan