God's plans

In the last week our family has been praying for something very specific....

....it didn't happen.

Now comes the normal responses of all of us as we seek to know what God is doing...

I prayed, why didn't he answer?

This was really important to me, how could he not do it?

Is there really a God at all if he doesn't answer prayers like this?

How can I trust him when he knew how important this was?

Why pray at all if he doesn't answer anyway?

I'm sure you could add a dozen other questions to this list that you have asked as the plans and prayers you hoped for didn't come true, didn't materialize.

What is God doing? What's his plans for us?  How do we navigate this topic of prayer when often the things we ask for are very important to us?  Now what?  Can we trust him?  Should I even pray for things again since he didn't answer this prayer?  Doesn't he know how important this was to me?

The emotions of unanswered prayer are intense.  The hoped for expectations that are crushed by a prayer unanswered are confusing.  Now what? Where do we go from here?

There are often no words for the emotions that follow an unanswered prayer.  For me, after many years of knowing God, I realized that often my dreams and visions are not the best thing for me...and so I trust God for his plans, his directions....but it's hard, isn't it?  It's hard when we asked, we wanted, we hoped...and he replies with silence.  Is he there at all?  Is he, as many say, the God of the deist...making it all and then walking away?  Unanswered prayers make us ask those questions...especially when he has invited us to ask!

The bottom line for all of this is simply this-  God loves us. God is sovereign and his love, his plans, and his wisdom direct our lives for his glory and our good.  It doesn't mean we always get what we want...and that confuses us because we "know" that what we want is the very best thing....if only God would give us what we prayed for.

But often he doesn't.  Now what?

Solomon wrote these words,

"The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps."

When God says "no" I come back to this...

God loves me,

He has my best in mind,

He has a plan for my life,

and he's sovereign.

I can trust him to accomplish the best for me.....even when he says "no".  

In moments like this, when I don't understand his "no" I go back to the verses that direct me when I don't have answers...the verses that calm my confused and disheartened mind,

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart

  and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

    and he will make your paths straight."