Copyright by Shea Oakley
All rights reserved
God sometimes gives us what we pray for at a different time and in a different way than we asked. This may be because His plan for our lives is bigger than we can imagine and the request is right in spirit but wrong in detail.
With the exceptions of purely selfish or vindictive petitions the child of God can expect that his or her prayer will be answered and often in the affirmative. God is not generally in the habit of forever denying His own that for which they ask. If what they want is a good thing requested in the right spirit, with authentic faith that he can and will grant it to them, then they can live expecting a positive answer. What Christians should not expect is that they will necessarily get the thing they desire in the time and way that seems right to them. In fact, more often than not, the prayer will not be answered in the manner anticipated.
Most of us have heard stories about such unexpected answers. One of the more common tales is that of the person who has sought after God for a mate, thought they had been led to the love of their lives, and then watched the potential relationship crash and burn. After much grieving, possibly accompanied by a period of anger with God that He doesn’t deserve, the person finally comes to accept what has happened and moves on. Shortly thereafter they meet someone even better for them and eventually marry that person. Their prayer was answered, but not when, or with whom, they expected. This story could apply to many other circumstances including asking for a new job, a new place to live, even a call to life ministry. In each case the petitioner might not get what they want when they want it but they will get what God knows is best for them when He knows its best for them to get it. Answered prayer not answered in the way we expect it to be is part of the normal Christian life.
God’s overall plan for our lives is seldom what we expect. He has a wonderful way of taking us in directions we could never have imagined and fulfilling us in a far deeper way than we thought possible. Ask a seasoned Christian whether they have ended up with the kind of life that they expected at the time of their conversion and I would venture to say that very few, if any, would answer yes. We have a tendency to dream small dreams. We also have a tendency to expect that our human perspective on what the future might hold is synchronized with God’s greater plan for us. It seldom is. Our Lord often takes us in directions we never would have expected. This is because he knows us better than we think we know ourselves and also because He knows what we are capable of as we allow the Holy Spirit to take possession of our lives. A Spirit-led life is a life of sometimes astonishing twists and turns. It is an abundant life and one that is potentially full of adventures we would once never had seen ourselves taking part in. The truly committed Christian will encounter many “divine surprises” along the way. At the end such a person will look back with great satisfaction on a life that has reached its potential.
There is perhaps nothing greater than that for us except, of course, the expectation of being with our Lord once such a life here reaches its end.