Unanswered Prayers

Christians are taught to take everything to God in prayer.  When we or a loved one face an illness, we get on our knees and we go to God in prayer.  When we are enduring relationship issues, we bow our heads and take advantage of the avenue of communication through Jesus.  When our career hits a brick wall, we retreat into our private place, confident in the scripture, “ask and ye shall receive.”  When we make our requests known to God we sometimes include a list of instructions.  God doesn’t need our direction.  He holds the master plan for our lives, it’s called His Will.  I have recently discovered this to be one of my greatest flaws.  Prayer with specifications means prayer with limitations. 

 

It is okay to let God know our dreams and to even ask Him for exactly what we want, but I sometimes make the mistake of holding Him to my timeline and my precise plan.  Putting all your eggs in one basket or getting your hopes up to expect every wish granted is impractical.  God’s plan is greater than our own.  God’s wisdom is far beyond our comprehension.

 

Garth Brooks sang a song in the early 1990’s called, “Unanswered Prayers.”  Some of the lyrics are listed below:

 

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers.  Remember when you’re talking to the man upstairs.  Just because He may not answer, doesn’t mean He doesn’t care.  Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.

 

In the song, Garth tells the story of a young love not working out the way he wanted.  He later marries the love of his life and at a high school reunion runs into the old flame.  It doesn’t take long to realize that God never intended for him to be with this woman.  The right choice was made for his life.  It took him a while to realize, but God had something better planned for him.

 

When our hearts break because a dream doesn’t come to pass, a loved one doesn’t survive an illness, or a relationship doesn’t stand the test of time, we must realize there is a purpose.  My Granny used to always say, “we will understand in the by and by.”  As I get older, I realize that I have had so many questions I wanted answered that I have already forgotten most of them.  God heals our wounds.  We won’t stay lonely, downtrodden, or disheartened for long.  If we continue to look to Him and truly focus on the words, Thy Will Be Done, the end result will be greater than anything we wished for.

 

I recently complained to a dear friend that my past sins were holding me back from achieving the blessings I asked for in my future.  She disagreed with me and pointed me to David’s pleas with God in Psalms.  David committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband slain in war.  He paid with the death of his young son.  This was a consequence of his sin.  He truly repented and God restored him and gave him a king for a son in Solomon.  Look at the sins committed by Saul.  He murdered believers in cold blood.  Later he was truly sorry for his sins and was transformed into Paul, one of the greatest Apostles.  God doesn’t hold us back and He doesn’t allow our sin to hold us back.  It is our mind that renders this negative sentence.  The same mind that gave God directions on how I wanted my life to go is the same mind that allows my previous sins to impede my future happiness.  I am weak and God is powerful.

 

Over the course of the last few days I have learned that God has much greater plans for me.  While I have been frightfully creating havoc and turmoil in my own heart and my close friends, He has been at ease lining up my blessings.  You see, we have to convey to God what it is we need, “Lord, I need a healthy family or Lord, will you please bless me financially.”  We just don’t need to say, “Father, on February 12, 2013 I need you to deposit $2000 in my checking account.”  It is not going to happen.  We communicate to the Lord through Jesus Christ what we need and we let Him work out the what, where, when, how and why.  This is the true meaning of faith.

 

That dream you have been holding onto and holding God accountable for may not fit into the puzzle of your life in God’s eyes.  What we have to realize is that His plan is greater.  It has more abundance, happiness, and influence than anything our minds could imagine.  We need to learn to ask for our daily bread more often and trust in the promise that God will exceed our imagination.

 

People say that we go through hard times to come out stronger.  I have learned to appreciate unanswered prayers in the last few days and that is my growth as a Christian.  I am stronger.  I am more prepared to help others.  The journey through the storm may have been quite painful, but the beauty of the rainbow on the other side has exceeded my imagination.

 

Love to you all.