We must not become upset if for a while the Lord seems to allow our requests to go unheard. Naturally the Lord would be delighted if in one moment all men became dispassionate. But He knows, in His providence, that this would not be to their advantage.
When requests are made to God and are not immediately answered, the reason may be one of the following: either that the petition is premature, or because it has been made unworthily or vaingloriously, or because, if granted, it would lead to conceit, or because negligence and carelessness would result.
Saint John of the Ladder, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 26, “On Discernment”