Miracles, unanswered prayer and the hiddenness of God

What you'll learn

Explain J. L. Schellenberg's hiddenness argument fairly and answer it from Romans 1:18-20, Luke 16:31 and the incarnation
State what Scripture does and does not promise about prayer, using Gethsemane and 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, and show why the prosperity gospel is a false promise
Respond pastorally to a doubting friend, and to your own doubts, using Jude 22 and Psalms 13 and 73

Where these questions come from

Some objections come from the lecture theatre. These usually come from the hospital corridor: "I prayed for Mum and she died." "If God is real, why doesn't he just show himself?" A friend asking them may not want a debate. They want to know whether anyone is listening. This lesson gives you answers, but it also asks you to "weep with those who weep" (Rom 12:15).

First, a pointer back. You studied miracles in Foundations of Defence, Lesson 4, and met David Hume's essay Of Miracles (1748) in The Story of the Church, Lesson 7. Recall the key point: a sceptic who rules out miracles in advance is following a presupposition, not the evidence. If God exists, miracles are possible, and the resurrection is the test case.

Two further points prepare for this lesson. Biblical miracles cluster around great moments of revelation (Moses, Elijah and Elisha, Jesus and the apostles) and serve as signs that confirm God's messengers and point to Christ (John 20:30-31; Heb 2:3-4). And whether Christians believe the miraculous gifts have ceased (cessationists, such as John MacArthur) or continue (continuationists, such as John Piper), both agree that God still hears prayer and may heal (Jas 5:14-15), and both reject any promise that he always will.

What key point about Hume and miracles does this section recall, and what purpose do biblical miracles serve?Show answer

A sceptic who rules out miracles in advance, often following Hume, is following a presupposition rather than the evidence; if God exists, miracles are possible and the resurrection is the test case. Biblical miracles cluster around great moments of revelation and serve as signs that confirm God's messengers and point to Christ.

Ruling out miracles is a presupposition
Resurrection is the test case
Miracles cluster at revelation
Signs pointing to Christ

The hiddenness argument

The most careful form of "Why doesn't God show himself?" comes from the Canadian philosopher J. L. Schellenberg, first in Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason (1993) and later in The Hiddenness Argument (2015). A popular form is the remark widely attributed to Bertrand Russell that, if he met God after death, he would complain, "Not enough evidence, God!"

Notice how this differs from the problem of evil (Doctrines Under Fire, Lesson 4). The complaint is not that God allows pain but that he seems silent and absent. And admit something at once: the Bible itself speaks this way. "Truly, you are a God who hides himself" (Isa 45:15), and the psalmist asks, "How long will you hide your face from me?" (Ps 13:1). Scripture asked the question first. But Isaiah's sentence ends, "O God of Israel, the Saviour." The hidden God is also the God who saves.

In outline, Schellenberg's argument runs:

If a perfectly loving God exists, he would always be open to a personal relationship with anyone capable of one.
A relationship requires believing that the other exists, so such a God would make sure that no one open to him lacks belief.
But there are nonresistant nonbelievers: honest seekers who would welcome God yet do not believe.
So a perfectly loving God does not exist.

State Schellenberg's hiddenness argument in your own words, and explain how it differs from the problem of evil.Show answer

A perfectly loving God would always be open to a relationship with anyone capable of one, and a relationship requires believing that he exists, so he would make sure no one open to him lacks belief. But there are nonresistant nonbelievers, so such a God does not exist. Unlike the problem of evil, the complaint is not that God allows pain but that he seems silent and absent, a complaint Scripture itself voices (Isa 45:15).

Perfect love means openness
Relationship needs belief
Nonresistant nonbelievers exist
Silence, not pain
Isaiah 45:15

Answering hiddenness

Start by testing the key premise, that some people are fully open to God and simply lack evidence. Scripture says God's "eternal power and divine nature" are "clearly perceived" in creation, so that all are "without excuse", and that people "by their unrighteousness suppress the truth" (Rom 1:18-20; see Foundations of Defence, Lesson 2). Nonbelief is never purely neutral. That does not mean your friend is consciously lying. Sin works below the surface, and we too were once blind (2 Cor 4:4; Eph 2:1-3).

Next, test the assumption that more evidence would produce trust. Jesus denied it: "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead" (Luke 16:31). "Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him" (John 12:37). Spectacle can force acknowledgement; it cannot create love.

That points to God's purposes. He does not want bare belief that he exists, for "even the demons believe" (Jas 2:19). He creates trust by his Spirit through his Word (Rom 10:17; Eph 2:8). So Jesus told Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29). Blaise Pascal observed in his Pensées that there is enough light for those who desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who do not. Those who seek God with all their heart will find him (Jer 29:13).

How do Romans 1:18-20 and Luke 16:31 answer the hiddenness argument?Show answer

Romans 1:18-20 denies the premise that anyone is simply without knowledge of God: his power and nature are clearly perceived in creation, and people suppress that truth, so nonbelief is never purely neutral. Luke 16:31 denies that more evidence would produce faith: those who will not hear God's Word would not be convinced even by a resurrection.

God clearly perceived
Truth suppressed
Nonbelief not neutral
More evidence would not convince

Why, according to this section, does God not simply overwhelm everyone with evidence?Show answer

God does not want bare belief that he exists, since even the demons believe. He wants trust, which he creates by his Spirit through his Word. Spectacle can force acknowledgement but cannot create love, which is why Jesus blessed those who believe without seeing (John 20:29).

Not bare belief
Spirit creates trust through Word
Spectacle cannot create love
John 20:29

God has not hidden: he came

The deepest answer is not an argument but a person. "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known" (John 1:18). When Philip asked to see the Father, Jesus replied, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). God "has spoken to us by his Son", who is "the exact imprint of his nature" (Heb 1:2-3).

So the Christian answer to "Why doesn't God show himself?" is "He has." God took flesh, was seen and touched (1 John 1:1), died publicly under Pontius Pilate and rose again, appearing to more than five hundred people at once (1 Cor 15:6). The question turns around. Not "Why hasn't God shown himself?" but "What will you do with the One he has shown?"

This also speaks to God's felt silence in suffering. On the cross the Son cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34, quoting Ps 22:1). God knows from the inside what it is to feel abandoned, and the resurrection three days later shows that silence is not the last word.

How does the incarnation turn the question 'Why doesn't God show himself?' around?Show answer

God has shown himself in Jesus, who makes the Father known (John 1:18) so that whoever has seen him has seen the Father (John 14:9). He was seen and touched, died publicly and rose, appearing to more than five hundred. So the real question becomes what we will do with the One God has shown.

John 1:18; 14:9
Seen, touched, risen
God has shown himself
What will you do with Jesus?

Unanswered prayer and false promises

Scripture's promises about prayer are great: "Ask, and it will be given to you" (Matt 7:7). But it sets them in context. We ask "according to his will" (1 John 5:14) and in Jesus' name (John 14:13), that is, as his people seeking his purposes, not using his name as a password. Sometimes we do not have because we do not ask; sometimes we ask "wrongly, to spend it on your passions" (Jas 4:2-3). The Father promises "good things" (Matt 7:11), and he defines good.

Consider two prayers God answered with no. In Gethsemane the sinless Son prayed, "Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will" (Mark 14:36). The cup was not removed, and the world was saved through it. Paul pleaded three times for his thorn to be removed and was told, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:7-10). Tim Keller sums up Calvin and Packer this way: "God, being a good Father, gives us what we would have asked for if we knew everything he knew." John Piper adds: "God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them."

Sceptics cite the 2006 STEP study, which found that prayer by strangers for heart-surgery patients did not reduce complications. But God is not a mechanism to be tested in a laboratory; Jesus refused to put God to the test (Matt 4:7).

This is also why the prosperity gospel is a false promise. It teaches that faith, spoken with confidence, guarantees health and wealth, so unanswered prayer must mean weak faith. Yet Paul left Trophimus ill at Miletus (2 Tim 4:20). The Lausanne Theology Working Group's Statement on the Prosperity Gospel (2010) judged its extreme forms a false gospel. It crushes the sick and blames the grieving. The true gospel promises something better than health: God himself (Rom 8:32).

What do 1 John 5:14, James 4:2-3 and Matthew 7:11 add to the promise 'Ask, and it will be given to you', and how do Gethsemane and Paul's thorn illustrate this?Show answer

We ask according to God's will and in Jesus' name; sometimes we fail to ask or ask with selfish motives; and the Father gives good things as he defines good. In Gethsemane the Son asked for the cup to be removed but submitted to the Father, and the refusal saved the world. Paul's thorn was not removed, but God's grace was sufficient and his power was shown in weakness.

According to his will
Wrong motives
Father defines good
Gethsemane and thorn: no, for good

Why is the prosperity gospel a false promise, according to this section?Show answer

It teaches that confident faith guarantees health and wealth, so unanswered prayer must mean weak faith. But Scripture shows faithful believers such as Trophimus left sick, and the Lausanne statement judged its extreme forms a false gospel. It crushes the sick and blames the grieving, whereas the true gospel promises God himself.

Promises health and wealth
Blames weak faith
Trophimus left ill
Gospel promises God himself

When a friend doubts, and when you do

Jude, who calls us to contend for the faith, also says, "have mercy on those who doubt" (Jude 22). Doubt is being in two minds, not settled unbelief; you will study it further in Progressive Christianity, Lesson 5.

For your own doubts, Psalm 73 is a map. Asaph nearly slipped when he saw the wicked prosper, "until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end" (Ps 73:17). He ends, "Whom have I in heaven but you?" (Ps 73:25). Bring your doubts to God, not away from him. Keep using the ordinary means of grace, the Word, prayer, the Lord's Supper and the church (Know Your Faith, Lesson 13), and tell a mature believer. Your faith rests on Christ's grip on you, not your grip on him (John 10:28-29).

With a doubting friend:

Listen first. Ask what happened before you explain anything (Jas 1:19).
Lament with them. Psalm 13 begins, "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?" and ends with trust and song. God has given us words for complaint.
Point to Jesus, who wept at Lazarus's tomb (John 11:35) and then raised him.
Stay. Keep the friendship, keep praying, and invite them to read a Gospel with you.

Example: "I prayed, and nothing happened"

Friend: I prayed every night for Dad. He died anyway. If God were real, he'd have shown up.

You: I'm so sorry. I've been praying for you too. Can you tell me about those last weeks?

Friend: It was awful. And everyone at church kept saying, 'Just have faith.' Like it was my fault.

You: It wasn't your fault. Anyone who says your faith wasn't big enough has got the Bible wrong. Paul begged God three times to take away his suffering, and God said no.

Friend: So what's the point of praying?

You: Honestly, I don't know why God said no to you. But I know he's not indifferent. Jesus himself prayed, 'Take this cup from me,' and the Father said no, because through his death he was saving people like you and me. On the cross Jesus even cried, 'My God, why have you forsaken me?'

Friend: He felt that?

You: He did. And three days later he walked out of the grave. That's why I don't think silence is the last word. God hasn't stayed hidden; he came to us in Jesus.

Friend: I still feel angry.

You: That's allowed. Half the Psalms are people telling God they're angry. Would you read one with me sometime? Maybe Psalm 13.

Give three ways to help a doubting friend, using the section's guidance.Show answer

Listen before you explain anything, asking what happened. Lament with them, using psalms such as Psalm 13, which gives words for complaint and moves to trust. Point them to Jesus, who wept at Lazarus's tomb and raised him, and stay with them in friendship and prayer, inviting them to read a Gospel together. Throughout, Jude 22 calls for mercy on those who doubt.

Listen first
Lament with Psalm 13
Point to Jesus
Stay and read a Gospel
Mercy (Jude 22)

How does Psalm 73 help you with your own doubts?Show answer

Asaph nearly slipped when he saw the wicked prosper, until he went into God's sanctuary and saw their end, and he finished by saying he had no one in heaven but God. So we bring doubts to God rather than away from him, keep using the means of grace, tell a mature believer, and rest on Christ's grip on us rather than ours on him.

Asaph nearly slipped
Sanctuary changed his view
Bring doubts to God
Means of grace
Christ's grip on us

In their own words

“A perfectly loving God would always be open to a relationship with every capable person, so he would not allow anyone who is open to him to lack belief. Since there are honest, nonresistant nonbelievers, such a God does not exist.” (J. L. Schellenberg, Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason (1993); The Hiddenness Argument (2015))

“If I met God after death, I would tell him he gave us 'not enough evidence'. A God who wanted to be known would make himself plain.” (Remark widely attributed to Bertrand Russell (cited, e.g., by Wesley Salmon, Philosophical Studies 33, 1978))

“No testimony is ever sufficient to establish a miracle, since the uniform experience of the laws of nature always outweighs reports of a violation of them.” (David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748), section 10, 'Of Miracles')

“When prayer has been tested scientifically, it does nothing: patients prayed for by strangers before heart surgery did no better than those not prayed for.” (Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP), Benson et al., American Heart Journal 151 (2006))

Key texts

Isaiah 45:15: 'Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.' Scripture voices the hiddenness question, and joins it to salvation.
Romans 1:18-20: God's power and nature are clearly perceived, and people suppress the truth. Nonbelief is never purely neutral.
Luke 16:31: Those who will not hear Moses and the Prophets would not be convinced even by a resurrection. More evidence does not create faith.
John 1:18; 14:9: The Son has made the Father known; whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father. God has not stayed hidden.
Mark 14:36: Jesus asks for the cup to be removed, yet submits: 'not what I will, but what you will.' The model for every request.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10: Paul's thorn is not removed, but grace is sufficient and power is made perfect in weakness. Answers the prosperity gospel.
Psalm 13; Jude 22: God gives words for lament, and commands mercy for those who doubt.

Objections and answers

Try answering each one yourself before you open the response.

“If God wanted me to believe, he'd give me a sign. He hasn't, so either he isn't there or he doesn't care.”Show a response

I understand the longing, and Scripture shares it: Isaiah says, 'Truly, you are a God who hides himself' (Isa 45:15). But I'd gently say God has given a sign, the biggest one possible. He came. Jesus said, 'Whoever has seen me has seen the Father' (John 14:9). He lived, taught, healed, died publicly and rose again, appearing to more than five hundred people (1 Cor 15:6). You can examine that evidence. Jesus also warned that signs on demand don't produce trust: many saw his miracles and still did not believe (John 12:37). God isn't after mere acknowledgement but a relationship of trust. Would you be willing to read one of the Gospels and look at the sign he has already given?

“I'm an honest seeker. I'd welcome God if he's there. Telling me I'm 'suppressing the truth' is just insulting.”Show a response

I don't doubt your sincerity, and I'm not accusing you of lying. Romans 1 isn't saying you're consciously resisting; it's describing all of us, me included. The Bible says the human heart is deceptive (Jer 17:9), and I was blind until God opened my eyes (2 Cor 4:4-6). Sin works below the level we can see in ourselves. What Romans 1 does say is that God has made himself known clearly enough in creation and conscience that the problem isn't a lack of light. So I'd put it this way: if you're open, God promises that those who seek him with all their heart will find him (Jer 29:13). The best place to look is Jesus himself. Will you read John's Gospel with that prayer?

“Scientific studies show prayer doesn't work. The STEP trial found patients who were prayed for did no better.”Show a response

The STEP study (2006) did find that prayer by strangers for heart-surgery patients made no measurable difference. But notice what it assumes: that God is a mechanism who must respond to a set input on a researcher's schedule. The Bible never presents prayer that way. Jesus refused to put God to the test (Matt 4:7), and God is not obliged to perform for an experiment. Prayer is a child speaking to a Father, not a coin in a vending machine. We ask 'according to his will' (1 John 5:14), and he gives good things as he defines good (Matt 7:11). Even Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane was answered no, for the salvation of the world. A study can measure outcomes; it cannot measure a Father's wisdom.

“Christians rig the game: if prayer works it's 'yes', if not it's 'no' or 'wait'. That's unfalsifiable.”Show a response

I see why it looks that way. But Christianity isn't unfalsifiable; it stakes everything on a public event. Paul says if Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile (1 Cor 15:17). That is where to test it. Prayer isn't offered as a proof experiment; it flows from a relationship with a Father we already have reason to trust. Think of a wise parent. If my child asks for something harmful, saying no isn't a cop-out; it's love. Scripture openly records God saying no to his best servants: Paul's thorn stayed (2 Cor 12:7-10), and Jesus' own request in Gethsemane was refused. Christians don't hide unanswered prayer; the Bible puts it on display, and shows why a good Father sometimes refuses.

“Hume settled this centuries ago. A miracle is always less likely than a mistaken or lying witness.”Show a response

Hume's argument assumes what it needs to prove. He says uniform experience is against miracles, but experience is only uniform if you've already ruled out every report of one. If God exists, miracles are not absurd; they are what you'd expect when God acts to reveal himself. Many philosophers, including the agnostic John Earman in Hume's Abject Failure, have judged Hume's argument a failure. You studied this in Foundations of Defence, Lesson 4. So the real question isn't whether miracles are possible, but whether this one happened. The resurrection of Jesus is the place to test it: an early creed, an empty tomb, many appearances and a transformed movement. What best explains those facts?

“My pastor said if I had enough faith, God would heal me. I'm still sick, so I must be failing.”Show a response

I'm so sorry you've been told that. It's a heavy burden that God never put on you. The idea that faith guarantees health is called the prosperity gospel, and it's a false promise. Paul, an apostle of great faith, prayed three times for his thorn to be removed and God said no, so that Christ's power would rest on him in weakness (2 Cor 12:7-10). Paul left his friend Trophimus ill at Miletus (2 Tim 4:20). Jesus himself prayed for the cup to pass, and the Father said no. God may heal you, and it's right to ask him (Jas 5:14-15). But your sickness is not a verdict on your faith. Your security rests on Christ's grip on you, not on your health.

Written task

Your friend writes: "I prayed for months for my marriage and it still fell apart. If God were real, he'd show himself. I'm done." Write a 350-500 word letter in reply. Address both unanswered prayer and God's hiddenness, show how Christ answers both, and write with the warmth of someone who will stay.

Hand this in to Mr Scott. He will look for:

Opens with genuine empathy and lament (e.g. Ps 13) before giving any argument
Explains accurately what Scripture does and does not promise about prayer, using Gethsemane or 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, and rejects the prosperity-gospel idea that weak faith caused the outcome
Answers hiddenness from Scripture (e.g. Rom 1:18-20; Luke 16:31) without sounding accusatory
Presents Jesus as God's self-revelation (John 1:18; 14:9), crucified and risen, as the centre of the answer
Ends with a concrete, gracious next step, such as reading a Gospel together