Ambivalent answers from God?

I was recently asked the following question via email. I thought it was a good question and one worth sharing.

The Question

Does God give ambivalent answers to prayer? I guess what I mean is, is there always a clear cut answer, such as 'do this' or 'don't even think it'? Can an answer be left in doubt or is it just the human mind that perceives the doubt? Is there such a thing as a 'murky' answer to prayer?

My Response

"If any of you is lacking wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord." James 1:5-8

'Does God give ambivalent answers to prayer?' I guess, from our perspective here on earth, we can't help but say, "Yes." However, I don't believe God ever responds with uncertainty. He knows exactly what He is doing (or not doing). James says we need to "ask in faith, never doubting . . ." and I believe it's very important that we do this. But what are we putting our faith in? The easy answer is God and that's right. However, I think we blur our perspective because we really put our faith in THE ANSWER. If I hear clearly and know just what I need to do, then God is trustworthy and faithful to the promises He's made. If I don't have the answer, either a) God can't be trusted or b) there is something wrong with me.

If we put our faith in God and we define faith as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1) AND we define 'hope' biblically meaning guaranteed, then we KNOW God will answer. But more often than not, God's answer is not in direct response to our question. He is interested in doing a work IN us not just FOR us. So when I prayed that God would heal my dad of cancer, He didn't just say, "No, Chip, I will not do that." Instead He said, "I've heard you. I care deeply about you and what you are feeling and desiring. Trust me, and even though you will not get what you want, you will find in me what you need regardless of the answer you seek. So just because I do not respond with a YES doesn't mean your faith in me should be any less certain."

What's God's ultimate goal with us? It is to draw us to Himself (and in doing so the world will see Him in us). Regardless of what we ask for or not, God is always working in our conversation with Him to fulfill this ultimate goal. We often think if He'd answer us the way we want, then we'd be more easily drawn to him, but if you think about that as a parent, you realize how foolish that is. God doesn't revel in not giving us what we want, but He loves us so deeply, He won't always give us what we want. To Him it's not a transaction that ought to be the focus, but a relationship, and nobody does relationships better than He does.

I just finished reading an outstanding chapter on faith in Fredrick Buechner's book, Secrets in the Dark. It’s worth reading and addresses some of these challenges of faith.