The Parish

Answers

I know we talk a lot about prayer.

But what about answers?

There are times where I feel like prayer is explained in a way that puts emphasis onus

Pray hard.

Be persistent.

Make sure you praise Him.

...as if there were some magical equation that ends in Him answering us.

But what if prayer--like everything else in our Christian lives--was not about us?

What if answered prayers--specifically ones in our favor (that turn out exactly how we ask for them to)-- weren't the result of tokens we turn in for our good deeds or our skipped meals?

What if, instead, they were a result of His goodness?

And His sovereignty?

All for His glory?

What if answered prayers--specifically ones in our favor (that turn out exactly how we ask for them to)-- were the result of our lives aligning with His will, which is all about His glory?

I feel as though if we think like that, it could cut out some of the pain and frustration, the hair-pulling of unanswered prayers.

So how do we get there? To the point where we are not frustrated, angry, sulky, stomping off like a miserable child who does not understand the actions of their loving father when things do not turn out the way we feel they should?

These are a few conclusions I have come to:

It's all about His glory

Which is hard because most of the time, or all of it, we want it to be about us. But when we remember that He is all about Him then our perspectives are right on line. When our perspectives are right on line, then peace is a little more attainable. Because it is closer. Because He is peace.

Don't you forget, though. May we never forget the benefits we reap from Him being all about His glory.

He keeps His covenants. His promises.

Promises like sending a Savior who seeks out and loves sinners because He keeps His end of the deal.

You, me? We absolutely benefit from Him being all about Him. Because somewhere in there, He's about us. Championing us. Loving us. Saving us. Listening to us.

We absolutely do.

And prayer is no exception.

How many times have you heard, "Phew, thank God for unanswered prayers."

...maybe you've even heard the country song? (sorry)

Anyways, it's all about having the hindsight--the perspective--that now that person realizes their prayers were _______________ (insert your word here); but it all boils down to: not His will.

But maybe you're on the other end.

This is not how you feel about unanswered prayers.

Maybe you're hurt because you feel your prayers fell by the wayside.

Well, they didn't. He heard them. He hears them. He still hears you. He holds every tear you've cried in His hand. He probably even cries with you.

Because He knows hurt. Remember, the cross? Yeah. Man.

But if we believe that God good, that He desires the best for us, abundant life, to supply us with love for our neighbor, kindness and gentleness, that He is sovereign and nothing escapes His scope? Then we must also believe that our unanswered prayer, the one that cuts deep into the core of your heart, was all of those things.

Because He is good.

Because He loves us.

Because He is all about His glory.

And because we reap the benefits of that.

(side note: He also heals broken hearts. Broken hearts that you feel He might have even caused. Don't ever stop praying.)

That brings us to conclusion number two:

We must never stop praying. 

Why?

Why must we never stop praying?

Because it changes things.

It keeps our perspectives in line and our souls sensitive to His work so it is easier to attribute all things around us to Him and His hand and His glory.

Because when we experience answered prayers, we can join in with all of the universe in singing His praises.

Because it is a sweet, sweet, awe-inspiring, gut-gripping, knee-buckling thing to experience an answered prayer and that puts us even more so in our place as worshippers of the Most High.

The place we were created for.

The place we are most at home.

That's where prayer puts us, I think.

I think back over my life when He has been blatantly obvious in the prayers that He's answered:

Healing.

Salvation.

Peace.

Stop the rain.

Feed us.

Save them.

Strength and energy.

Words and courage.

It humbles me. Astounds me. And leaves me in absolute awe of who He is.

That's one of the dozens of reasons we must never stop praying. So we will never forget who He is and what He does and what He's capable of doing (because how many times has He gone above and beyond our feeble, faithless prayers? Answer: countless numbers. Everyday.)

My last conclusion is not so much a point, but maybe just something to be remembered.

That answers to prayer sometimes come in slight ways.

Ways that we can miss. Ways that we need to be actively on the look out for.

There's this guy named Frederick Buechner. In his book Wishful Thinking, Buechner says that coincidences are God's way of getting our attention. That each leaf shaped like a heart, initials of you and your husband on the license plate of the car in front of you, a phone call from an old friend hours after they crossed your mind-- that these are God's way of saying, "I remember you. I am here, and I love you. I am thinking of you."

Maybe coincidences are a form of answered prayer.

"God, may Paige have a good day today."

"Bless her, Lord."

"Show her your love today, please."

Coincidences: God's answered prayers.

(I love this because coincidences are usually chalked up to fate--the opposite of faith and God-- and they are something He controls. For. His. Glory. Nothing gets by Him. It's something to get excited about.)

May we saturate ourselves in Him because He has things for us to experience that are small and large. Don't miss them.

And don't listen to the ridiculous voice that creeps through the cracks that strikes feebly at that truth.

So, answers.

He answers prayers, guys. Keep praying--for the small and the large. Don't stop. And don't stop looking for the answers to your prayers. They are there. Maybe not exactly how you expected them, but that's ok. It's not about you. Remember?

Here's the thing, because He doesn't answer on your goodness or sweet actions or words.

He answers based on His glory.

And that's great news for us.