Daily Devotional for Thursday July 27, 2006

When God Doesn't Answer our Prayers the Way we Want

(Psalms 91:15; Isaiah 65:24)

Today, I want to address an issue that I know troubles many people. Everyone has prayers that aren't answered the way we wanted them to be answered. We prayed for God to heal someone we love, only to see them die. We prayed for a financial need that didn't get met. We have all had prayers that simply weren't answered the way we wanted them to be.

What does that mean? Does that mean we prayed wrong? Does that mean we didn't have enough faith when we prayed? Does that mean God didn't hear us? What does it mean when we pray and we don't get the answer we want?

Never forget that prayer demonstrators our dependence upon God. If you didn't need God's help why would you pray to Him in the first place? We pray out of our need. We are constantly dealing with the trials and tribulations of living in this sinful and evil world. We pray because we are instructed to in God's Word. God tells us over and over to call on His name, to cast our cares upon Him, to boldly come to the throne of grace. We pray in faith. We pray believing that God is able to meet whatever need we have, no matter how small or great that need may be.

As you mature in your walk with the Lord, you begin to accept that there are things you will pray for that simply won't be answered as you desired. That doesn't mean God didn't hear you, or that God doesn't love you, or that God is punishing you. It doesn't mean that you prayed wrong or that you didn't have enough faith. It simply means that God had another answer.

Many times I have prayed for something and didn't get the answer I wanted. Of course I was disappointed, maybe a little frustrated, even a bit discouraged. But as I matured in my relationship with the Lord I began to accept God's answer even when it wasn't the answer I wanted to hear.

I have come to the place in my journey with Jesus that I pray in faith, pray believing, but am willing to accept God's answer regardless what it is since I know His answer is the best answer. God sees down the road where I can't. He sees the big picture that I can't. I have come to realize that God loves me and how He answers my prayers, even when they are not the answers I want, are because He only wants the best for me.

I love you and care about you so much. Let me give you some wisdom today. In the end you want God's answer, not yours. Like I tell you all the time, God's way works, our way doesn't. I can assure you that God's answer will always be better than yours.

Some people may say, "Why pray at all, why waste my time?" Simple, because God tells us to pray! Again, prayer demonstrates our dependence upon God, it is a way of exercising our faith. We pray, but are prepared for God's answer which may not be the answer we want. However, we accept it because it is the best answer for our life.

So don't be upset the next time you don't get the answer you wanted from God. Instead praise Him for the answer, knowing that His answer is better than yours. The key to this whole issue is for God's heart and desires to become our heart and desires. We can't always know the heart and desires of God, but the longer we walk with Him, the more we study His Word, the more our heart becomes with His heart and our desires become His desires. That is the place all followers of Christ should strive to be.