Have you ever prayed for something and felt as though God was not answering your prayer? You wait, and you beg, and you plead your case. You know EXACTLY what you “need” to make your life complete, whole, or better, and you petition God to make this desire come true. Except, it doesn’t happen.
You experience grief, sadness, and maybe even anger at your unanswered prayers. Maybe you become angry at God, and not just the unanswered desire of your heart. However you feel, I bet sometimes you feel confused. If God loves me, why won’t he grant this request? Why isn’t my life getting better? I try to remind myself in these situations that God’s ways are so much higher than our ways. In context of our human lives and understanding, we can’t always comprehend what God has planned for us.
I want to suggest today that God doesn’t always give us what we want, He focuses on giving us what we truly need. Consider Acts 3:3-6. It states, “When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ, of Nazareth, walk.””
This man was asking Peter and John for money, a temporal fix for his current situation. But, money was not what he needed most in life. In my opinion he needed a savior. He needed Jesus Christ. Rather than giving him money, Peter, in the name of Jesus Christ, heals him and restores his ability to walk. Maybe he was waiting, and begging, and pleading with God, asking him to bring him enough money to survive. God didn’t give him what he was asking for, he gave him SO much more. He gave him what he truly NEEDED.
Can you think of a time in your life when a prayer went unanswered? Maybe you can think of one that is on your heart at this very moment. As I struggled for years with a chronic illness, I prayed over and over again that God would heal me. Month after month I continued to be ill and each time I had lab work drawn I would have a sense of grief, sadness, and maybe even anger that I was not healed or even a little bit better.
During this time, I did not get what I wanted, but I did get what I needed. A savior. God used this time in my life to test my faith, produce perseverance, and draw me closer to Him than ever before. So, while my need appeared to be unmet with human eyes, amazing healing took place. The healing of my heart and relationship with Jesus Christ.
Today, I want to thank our amazing Lord and God for giving us what we need in life, rather than simply what we want or think we need. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9). We may not understand our circumstances right now, but we can find joy and peace in knowing that God understands them perfectly and is working them for our good and the good of His kingdom. Praise be His name for ever and ever, amen!