Answered Prayers by Bart Bartosh

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask–-we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15

The way that God handles our prayers has been on my mind lately. Sometimes He answers them in very obvious ways and we get exactly what we asked for. Other times we get something entirely different and it doesn’t make any sense as to why He would choose to go that route. And then, of course, there are the prayers that are not answered…or as far as we can tell.

First we need to take a look at what we are actually praying for. My prayer for a million dollars to pay off my house, buy a new pick up, and pull my new boat with it, probably isn’t going to make it very far because I am asking for something that likely doesn’t fit into His will. However, when I ask for God to bless and provide for my friend who has hit a real low in their life, the motivation for that request is pure and fits into his will by loving my neighbor as myself.

But what about the prayers that we feel go unanswered that seemingly “check all the appropriate boxes''? When I need help and I ask for strength, wisdom, and discernment, why doesn’t God just fill each of those meters up to 100 for me the next day? More often than not, He answers our prayers on his schedule and in His own way and as today's passage says “if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us and we will have what we want.” We have to trust that He will answer them in His own way, even if that means we have to be open to the idea that if we want strength, wisdom, or discernment, we have to allow God to present us with the uncomfortable situations that will sharpen each of those characteristics.

Lord, thank you for continuing to answer our prayers and provide for us daily. We trust you in your sovereignty and in the ways that you continue to help us grow. Amen.