Unanswered Prayers

“I prayed and nothing happened… it didn’t work.” Dejected and discouraged my young daughter tried to make sense of a loving Savior who has all power and authority and yet doesn’t give us what we want the moment we ask for it.

Even though this conversation took place many years ago, it continues to strike a familiar chord. I can certainly relate to feeling confused, discouraged and impatient as I wait on the Lord to answer prayers and fulfill His promises.

Maybe, just like me, you are crying out, “How long O Lord?” How much longer do I have to wait for … How would you finish the sentence? What are you waiting on the Lord to do for you right now?

During a difficult waiting period, when I longed for a fresh breath of hope and encouragement, I “stumbled” upon a verse I’d never noticed before: “But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His plan to unfold.” (Psalm 106:13)

Basically, the ever-forgetful Israelites had once again turned their backs on God because the whole “wilderness journey thing” was taking a bit too long for their liking. It’s easy for me to understand their impatience, but the thought that speaks most powerfully to me is that they refused to wait for God’s plans to unfold.

I can almost hear God saying: “Just WAIT a minute, would you? I’m not finished writing the story! My very good plans for you have already been put into place … you just need to wait for them to unfold.”

As I continued to consider this passage, the following thought came to mind: our unanswered prayers are simply God’s unfinished stories. God may not answer when and how we think He should, but we will most certainly see His goodness unfolding before us as we wait on Him.

Can you imagine how different our lives would be if we believed with unshakeable certainty that prayer ALWAYS works and that the Master Storyteller really can be trusted with the delays and detours He allows in our lives?

Let’s celebrate the fact that we might have to wait on God’s answers to our prayers, but we NEVER have to wait for our turn … it’s ALWAYS our turn! Our Living Redeemer has already gone before us composing a story that He describes as “immeasurably more than anything we can ask or imagine.”

Our God is on the move and He is acting on behalf of those who WAIT for Him … even when we can’t see Him … even though we don’t feel Him.

What if … our unanswered prayers are simply God’s unfinished stories …