Mark 4:38 (KJV) -- And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
Time of great problems:
There are times when we have some seemingly great problems and God is no where to be found. He seems to ignore our prayers and our praying gets difficult and the sky seems like brass – our prayers just bounce back to us. If this persists too long we begin to wonder if God cares about us.
Consider the sparrows:
Jesus talked about sparrows in teaching us not to be overly burdened about the things of this life (Lu 12:6-7). Unless there is some obvious reason (like sin – Psa 66:18; Prov 15:8, 29; Isa 59:1-2) that our prayers are not being answered, then we can reason that perhaps it is a test as Job was tested.
The disciples:
The disciples came to Jesus in the midst of the storm with the idea He either could not help or would not – He did not care. They feared for their life believing that the end was very near. And for this, Jesus rebuked them (Mk 4:40).
Mary and Martha:
When Lazarus was sick and eventually died, Mary and Martha allowed the grief of the moment replace their faith. They even sent word before Lazarus died that he was sick and about to die, yet Jesus tarried several days before going to them. When He came they brought up the fact that if He had been there, Lazarus would not have died – He seemed not to care to them. Jesus simply reminded them of what He had said to them (and perhaps others) before Jn 11:40.
Woman of Canaan:
One day a woman of Canaan came to Jesus seeking Him to deliver her daughter who was possessed of a demon. Jesus seemed not to care – not even acknowledging her (Matt 15:23). She had heard of Jesus but probably thought that He did not care.
Jesus cares:
The disciples, the sisters of Lazarus and the Canaanite woman all thought Jesus did not care; but the storm was calmed, Lazarus was brought back to life and the daughter delivered from the demon. Jesus’ delay seemed to be as test of faith and also a strengthening of it.
Peter saw each one of these situations and He may have had one or all of them in mind when he penned 1 Pet 1:7 – “ That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: “
God does care about us and unless there is obvious sin in our life we can rest assured that He has heard our prayers and delay is not necessarily denial but could be a test and strengthening of our faith.