This weekend the boys and girls basketball teams from Kate and Gavin’s high school were in the state finals. The girls came back from being down at half time and won! The boy’s team was up by ten or more most of the first half yet in the second half the other team came back strong. It was back and forth for the second half and we ended up being down by two with 0.8 seconds to go. We had the ball and were able to get a shot off, but unfortunately we missed and lost the game.
On the ride home, one of our kids said, “I prayed at the end of the game, and God didn’t answer my prayer.”
I heard what he was saying.
When we turn to God for prayer, we expect Him to answer us in the way we want Him to. Yet, as we know, that isn’t always the case.
Without trying to be too preachy, I shared with our kids something I heard last year. At every sporting event there are people praying for their team to win. The reality is God cannot say yes to both teams; one team will win and one team will lose.
So what do we do with that information?
God cares about each of us and hears every prayer and knows our hearts, yet like any good parent, God doesn’t always give us what we want. And when He doesn’t say yes to what we want, we have a choice, to turn away from God, or to draw closer to Him to gain greater insight and understanding.
I share this with you today because I know that our child is not alone in not having their prayers answered the way they’d like. I can relate to him. Can you? If so, I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.™
When our prayers aren’t answered the way we want what is our natural reaction? Do we turn towards, or away from, God? Let’s answer this honestly.
I think for most of us, we may naturally turn away, consciously or subconsciously, from God. May we pray to grow in awareness of this truth. If we are turning away from God when our prayers are not answered the way we want them to be, may we instead practice turning towards God. Why? Because God is truly the only one who will help us gain wisdom and perspective to see the broader picture than what we see in the moment. He will help us see He has our best interest at heart, even if the answer to our prayers is sometimes no.
And I will be praying our child draws close to God too, even when his prayers aren’t answered as he wants them to be.
With love and hope,
Shawn
" For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…”
- Ecclesiastes 3:1