The perils of prayer

Some Christians stop praying because it's too disappointing. Some Christians lose their faith because their experience with prayer is too disappointing. Sometimes it's easier to pray for others than to pray for yourself. 

It wouldn't surprise me if God is more likely to answer the prayers of garden-variety Christians when they pray for their own needs than for Christians who have certain advantages. It would be interesting if a Christian sociologist did a survey with a representative sample.

For instance, Ezekiel, Hosea, Jeremiah, and St. Paul led grueling lives. No one prays for that kind of life. No one prays, "God, I'm too happy–make me suffer!" So it seems undeniable that God ignored their prayers when they prayed for their own needs. He may have answered some of their prayers for others. And he may have answered their prayers when their personal needs coincided with the life he called them to. But when it came to prayers for their emotional well-being, it seems clear that God generally rebuffed those prayers. They were required to tough it out.

Mind you, they had certain perks the average Israelite didn't enjoy. God spoke to them. God manifested himself to them in dramatic and unmistakable ways. So there was a tradeoff. They had more evidence for God, but God was less benevolent to them. They have more light to see by, but darker lives. 

By analogy, there are Christians with intellectual advantages. They are in a better position to defend the faith. They had a strong faith to begin with. 

It wouldn't surprise me if God is less likely to grant their petitions when they pray for their own needs than the average Christian who lacks their advantages. In that regard, their prayer life may be more frustrating and disappointing than for other Christians. To be sure, this is a difference of degree. I doubt any Christian always gets everything he prayed for. But there may be ways God offsets one Christian's advantages with another Christian's disadvantages, and vice versa.