Have you been praying and praying for something...only to feel like God’s not listening?
We’ve all been there.
So what’s up with that? Where is He?
Of course, it's kind of funny that we never question whether God hears our praise and adoration, but we always question if He hears when we’re asking for something.
We’re all so geared for empirical results – “Show me the money!” “Rain down some fire!” “Get me outta here!”
We have to see to believe, and unless it happens our way, it’s not happening at all.
The truth of the matter is that God always answers.
And His answers come in three ways: “Yes.” “No.” And “Not yet.”
In fact, He may have already answered and you don’t recognize it as an answer because you were looking for something else.
We see in the Bible that a lot of Jews in Jesus’ time were looking for a Messiah. But they wanted military and political power, so they were looking for the wrong guy. They didn’t recognize the King of Kings who was ushering in an eternal, spiritual kingdom when He was right in front of them.
You see, here’s the underlying truth we have to constantly keep in mind: God is always going to answer our prayers in the manner that is best for our eternal salvation.
Yes, He wants us to be happy in the here and now. But like any good parent (and He's the best ever), He's most concerned for our future.
And sometimes He understands that what you're praying for might not be the best thing.
For example, let’s say you’re praying for a new job or promotion, but God knows it’s going to take you away from your family too much. He knows your spouse and kids will suffer in your absence, so He says “no” or “not yet.”
Yes, it can be frustrating, and in the face of disappointment because things didn't go "our way," we oftentimes cry out, "Why, God?"
But at the end of the day, we have to learn to trust.
We have to get to the point where we understand that God loves us so much that anything He allows or purposefully does is always...and I mean always...for our good.
As Romans 8:28 says, "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose."
So keep laying your petitions before the Lord and trust that no matter what, not only does He know exactly what's going on, but He will take care of it the best way possible because He loves you more than you can even fathom.
God bless!
Matthew
P.S. Is your parish or group looking for a powerful study to run this fall? Check out the FIVE Group Starter Packs I've put together to make running a group study as easy and impactful as possible! CLICK HERE to learn more!
