Pete Greig began writing “God on Mute: An Answer to Unanswered Prayer” as a paper manuscript he gave to friends. Today it is one of the most helpful books on the issue of unanswered prayer. One of the latest editions of the published book includes a 40-day Lenten study that I did last year.

I recommend it to anyone struggling to find peace when they feel God has not answered their prayers. This includes many of us who have a loved one dealing with severe and persistent mental illness.

I know, as one of my friends noted, there is no such thing as unanswered prayer. It’s either yes, no or wait. Still, as Justin Welby, 105th Archbishop of Canterbury writes in to introduction, Grieg comes from a Christian tradition “that expects the intervention of God.” When God does not visibly intervene, Christians in that tradition have predictable reactions. You can even see the difficulty when meditating on Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane.

Grieg is a man familiar with this grief. A British pastor, he cofounded the 24-7 prayer movement, now a worldwide ministry. His struggles with unanswered prayer focused on his wife’s affliction with a disease that gives her chronic convulsions. She still has the illness although she has outlived predictions for her life expectancy.

Citing many examples of unanswered prayer among his friends and other respected Christians, Grieg spends a good part of the book explaining why God cannot answer some of our prayers as we wish. The appendix reviews his 16 different reasons and how we can react to them.

The 40-day Lenten guide also walks gently through the book’s content as Grieg examines the problem of unanswered prayer within three contexts: God’s world, God’s will and God’s war against evil.

If you are struggling with anger, sorrow, bitterness or despair over your prayers, this book would be a wonderful addition to your Lenten routine. It has five stars on Amazon and four stars on GoodReads. So others agree with me: It’s a helpful read. Please let me know if you find it helpful.