"Unanswered" Prayers

Have you ever had one of "those" prayers?  You know the kind I mean.  The one that you pray over and over and over, and no matter how often you pray it, you just feel like it's not being answered?   Have you ever been guilty of questioning why He doesn't see fit to answer it?  I have, very recently.   When I realized that the prayer had, indeed, been answered more abundantly than I could have imagined, I was humbled.  And grateful.  And awed.  

I put the title in quotes, because I know with all my heart that there are no unanswered prayers for a child of God living right in His sight.  The reason we call them unanswered is often because the answer wasn't the one we wanted to hear.  Right?   You can nod in agreement...no one will know. :)

Recently, I prayed very hard about a situation my daughter was facing with a new school year.   I took to heart the verse that exhorts us to pray without ceasing.   Several times I was brought to tears begging God to answer the prayer.  I prayed fervently for His will to be done, not mine, and for me to accept that will, but deep down I had hopes for a certain answer to be His will.  I know I'm not the only one who has done that!

Needless to say (but I will anyway!), God did not answer the prayer the way I, with my feeble understanding of things, thought He should have.   I confess that I was scared and almost angry at the results, but I remembered a similar situation last year that turned out to be best, even though I hated it at the time.  When my daughter became aware of it, she even asked why God did things the way He did.   I had no answer other than, "Because He knows best."  Even as I spoke the words, I worried.  Did He really make the right choice?  Did I interpret His choice correctly?  Had I messed up His plan?  Would it work out for the best?   Should I "take it back" upon myself instead of letting it go?   I wavered in my confidence and spent more than one sleepless night.

Today, I had a meeting at school that I feared would cement my opinion of the situation.  I tossed and turned all night as I worried about the meeting and rehearsed my part of it.  I stressed and prayed and had myself in knots.  I was desperate for reassurance that this would work out for the best.

I walked into the meeting incredibly nervous and scared.  I was going to have to share private family details with a stranger and hope for the best.   Would it be well received?  Would it work out?  Could I do it alone??

The answer, in short, is that I didn't HAVE to do it alone.  God had prepared the way for me.  He had already taken care of the details.   He had answered my prayer in ways I couldn't have imagined.  Within a few minutes of beginning the meeting, I knew that He was taking care of me and of my daughter.   The other person in the meeting was very accepting and welcoming, and she quickly assured me that she had our best interests in mind and would help us with the difficulties we faced.  The fears I had were unwarranted.   My worries were a waste of time and energy and sleep.  (Aren't they always?)

I am not naive enough to think that there will be no bumps along the road this school year, but I am so thankful that, during this first full week, God has reminded me of His constant presence.  

So, the next time you feel like your prayers are going unanswered, do two things for me:

1.)  Make sure you are in a right relationship with God.  If you have questions about this, please ask me or check out the tab at the top of the page about salvation for verses to study.

2.)  Stop worrying if you can, and know that there are NO "Unanswered" prayers with God.  If you feel like it has been unanswered, take a good, hard look at things and see if maybe the answer just isn't the one YOU thought was best.

3.)  Don't give up praying.  Keep praying until you are confident you know God's answer.   Even then, keep praying.  Thank Him for answering your prayer.  Trust Him to make it all work out for good!