Unanswered vs. Obstructed Prayer

Rinker distinguishes between unanswered and obstructed prayers. Unanswered prayers are those that God, in His wisdom, chooses not to grant because they may not be in our best interest. Rinker states, 'I am sure the Lord, in His great loving wisdom, sifts all our requests, and the ones which might harm us are not answered according to our asking.' On the other hand, obstructed prayers are those that could be answered but are delayed due to obstacles such as unforgiveness or sin. She uses the analogy of traffic being held up by snow in Chicago to illustrate how obstacles can delay the flow of answers to our prayers.