Today’s Verse—Romans 11:33
How very rich are God’s wisdom and knowledge!
How he judges is more than we can understand!
The way he deals with people is more than we can know!
Garth Brooks wrote a song called “Unanswered Prayers.” It’s the story of a man who ran into his former high school girlfriend. The meeting brought back memories of when he wanted to marry this girl. He had prayed every night that God would give her to him. God didn’t answer his prayer, but more on that later . . .
So what happens when we ask God for something and He doesn’t answer? Is God asleep? Does He not care about us? The problem with the phrase “unanswered prayers” is that it’s really not very accurate. God listens to every word we say. He answers every prayer. It’s just that sometimes He answers no.
But why would He answer no? we wonder. I asked for something good! Why would He do that?
Sometimes God doesn’t make sense. But here’s the thing. God doesn’t think like we do. For us, everything is about our lives on earth. But God thinks about things in an eternal way. James 4:14 says, “You don’t even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? It is a mist that appears for a little while. Then it disappears.”
So we don’t always understand why God works the way He does. All we can do is trust that He is thinking of our best interests, and the best interests of our children, and the best interests of people we’ve never even met. We don’t know what God knows. So we just need to trust that He loves us and is doing what is best for us.
In the Garth Brooks song, the man talked to his old girlfriend, and they had nothing to talk about. There was no love between them. He realized that this wasn’t the woman he was meant to marry. God had it figured out long before he had. The last lines of the song say it all:
Whit and Wisdom
Prayer is a great gift from God. It’s an honor to be able to talk to our heavenly Father at any time, for any reason. Sometimes we struggle with how to pray. Well, there are a few things you can do if you get stuck: start with “praise and thanksgiving” for God, His love, and all the things you’re grateful for, then talk to Him about the things you’ve done wrong during the day (“confession”). Then pray for your family and friends (and even people you don’t like!)—that’s called “intercession.” Next tell Him what’s on your heart. What are you worried about? What do you need? What kind of help would you like Him to give you? That part is called “petition.” Remember: God loves you more than anyone and wants to hear from you every day.
Just because he may not answer doesn’t mean he don’t care . . .
Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.
Family Challenge #4—Prayer Chart
Make a large chart for your family and put it on a bulletin board, a wall, or someplace where everyone in your family will have access to it. If something good happens to someone in your family, write it down in a “Praises” column. If there is a concern, a need, or a problem in your family, write it as a “Prayer Request.” If there is an answered prayer, mark it as an “Answer.” Then when your family reads through the list once a week, they can thank God for each praise or answer to prayer and pray for each request.
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Prayer Theme Memory Verse—1 Thessalonians 5:17
Never stop praying.