Can God do whatever he wants, or realize people's wishes at any time?
God is all-powerful, but he acts through the laws he established and through human freedom and responsibility. Prayers are answered when they accord with his purpose and rest on a foundation, so delay reflects respect for our part, not divine indifference or weakness of power.
Almost everyone who prays has asked this question in some form. If God is almighty, why does he not simply remove suffering, prevent tragedy, and grant the good things we ask for the moment we ask? The Bible affirms without hesitation that God is all-powerful, yet it also records prayers that went unanswered, plans that were delayed for centuries, and moments when God himself grieved over what people had done. Understanding how both can be true reveals something essential about the kind of power God actually holds.
The Biblical Foundation
Scripture leaves no doubt about God's ability. The angel told Mary, "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37), and God asked Abraham, "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14). Yet the same Bible shows God waiting, pleading, and being refused. After the Fall, God did not override Adam's choice; he came searching and asked, "Where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). Before the flood, "it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart" (Genesis 6:6) — the language of a parent whose will has been frustrated, not of a ruler executing decrees. In his own home town, Jesus "could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief" (Mark 6:5-6). The risen Christ does not force entry but says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock" (Revelation 3:20). Even Jesus prayed, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me" (Matthew 26:39), and the cup was not taken away.
The Principle's Clarification
The resolution lies in recognising that God's power operates through the very laws he established at creation. God is the author of principle, and an absolute being does not break his own absolute standard, because to do so would make him inconsistent and therefore less than absolute. Creation was made to run by law rather than by whim, and human beings were made to grow to maturity by carrying out their own portion of responsibility. God supplies the far greater part, but the small portion left to the person cannot be done for them, because only then can a human being become a true owner of goodness and a genuine partner in love rather than a puppet. That is why God could speak to Adam and Eve, warn them, and wait for them, but could not force their obedience.
A second limitation follows from the Fall itself. Because humanity came under a false lineage and a false dominion, God's work of restoration must proceed through conditions of indemnity, laid one by one in history through central figures who were free to succeed or fail. When they failed, God's will was not cancelled but delayed, and he had to begin again with someone else. So the delay we see in providence is not weakness of power but faithfulness to principle and respect for human freedom.
Why Wishes Are Not Granted On Demand
Prayer is answered on the same terms. God is generous — "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find" (Matthew 7:7) — but the request must accord with his purpose and rest on a foundation. James is blunt about requests that fail this test: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3). Elijah prayed for rain and sent his servant to look seven times before a cloud the size of a man's hand appeared (1 Kings 18:43-44), and Jesus taught persistence in prayer through the widow who would not stop appealing to the judge (Luke 18:1-8). Answers also depend on other people, because a wish that requires the change of a free human heart cannot be imposed without destroying the very love that is sought. Often what God gives is not the thing requested but the strength and the situation through which the person can grow into receiving something greater.
The Completed Understanding
God is therefore almighty, but his omnipotence is the power of a parent rather than the power of a tyrant. He restrains himself for the sake of love, because love that is compelled is not love at all. Nothing in the universe can resist God's ability, yet God himself will not violate the freedom and responsibility that make a child capable of loving him back. Seen this way, unanswered prayer is not evidence of divine indifference but an invitation into partnership: God is waiting for the conditions through which he can act openly and lawfully, and much of the time he is waiting for us.
Living the Principle
Pray boldly, and then ask what portion of the answer belongs to you. Align your requests with God's purpose rather than only your comfort, and take up the practical steps, relationships, and sacrifices that give God something to work with. When an answer is slow, do not conclude that God is unwilling; look for the condition still to be laid and lay it. Honour the freedom of others as God honours yours, and expect that the deepest wishes of your heart will be fulfilled not by a sudden miracle imposed from outside, but by a life built together with God.
These answers explain the Bible in the light of the Divine Principle, the teachings of Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Read about the author, Sun Myung Moon.
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Sources and further reading
- The Holy Bible, King James Version — Scripture quoted and referenced throughout the answers.
- The Divine Principle (full text) — The complete text of the Divine Principle, the teaching of Reverend Sun Myung Moon that these answers explain.
- Unification texts library (tparents.org) — Large online library of Unification texts, sermons and collected speeches, including the Cheon Seong Gyeong.
- Short video lectures in English — Playlist of short English video lectures presenting these same principles.