Answered prayers

I prayed for healing of my cervical spine oppression but it took me three years to feel relief from the excruciating pains. Now I can take long drives though with proper neck protection. But I believe that I am well now. All it took was for me to stop complaining and wait.

I took a Professional Education course (second to my first course in mass communications) last year. I had anxieties about whether my brain could still take the rigors of the Licensure Exams last September (I’m not that young anymore!). I prayed for success and I got it two months after. And all it took was to trust in His promise that if I do things in His name, He will be with me. God knew I wanted to help in the formation of the youth not for additional income, but for me to develop a personal relationship with God. And my prayer to pass the board exams can make this happen!

When my husband suffered from cancer, I prayed hard to God not to take him away. But he died anyway. I was angry. I couldn’t understand why such a good man had to go. And why leave me with three young children? Today, 15 years later, with my three children graduated from good schools and holding great jobs, it’s so clear to me that God didn’t want to hurt me after all. He just wanted to teach me not to rely so much on me and people but on Him who can provide for all our needs. He is the God of the impossible.

I have one secret desire in my heart today and it’s been awhile since I was praying to God for an answer. I still don’t see a sign. Nothing is happening. But what I know is to trust that God knows what’s best for me. It shall be His will, not mine.

The Bible tells us that our heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. But like my experiences, God can do three things when we ask him some things: He doesn’t act right away, He gives another answer, or He finally answers. What are some reasons for the delay or His denial of our requests?

Well, just like my years of pain with my cervical spine, it may seem unfair for a single parent like me to face the risk of being disabled! But God’s purpose was to stretch me and let me grow in faith, so He took His time to heal me. God wants us to watch for His response. During our times of waiting, the Holy Spirit will work to mature us and then grant us His righteous fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).

On the other hand, we don’t get answers to our prayers because we have a lifestyle of sin and disobedience to God and what we’re asking will keep us in sin. We have the wrong motive in asking. So God may delay, if not withhold His answer until we are able to confess our sins and turn back to Him. So as we wait for answers to our prayers, ask first if it’s going to please God. Are we not in a state of sin? Our answer determines God’s answer.

Another reason our prayers don’t get answered yet is that God may have seen that our attention is misdirected. Are we asking something from Him that will estrange us from Him? Will it make us forget Him?

For example, our minds and prayers can become  fixed on how to get more money or gain more possessions that our gaze shifts away from Him. Our relationship with Him should have priority over any earthly matter (Mark 12:30). The Father may delay His answer until we refocus on Him.

In other situations, God waits because the timing is not right for granting our request. Perhaps certain events must happen first, or people’s thinking needs to be changed. My eldest son finally got his promotion from work after four years. Every year, he would complain to me while he was always bypassed by other staff. I simply told him that he may not yet be ready for it. Last month, when he told me about the good news, he understood now why he had to wait. He said the office situation is better, his boss had to leave and found him mature enough to be in the line of succession, and he said he’s gained many experiences in all aspects of the company’s business. God’s time is always the perfect time.

I know well that waiting on the Lord isn’t easy. But I tell you, our patience will be worth it. All it takes is faith and trust that God knows what He’s doing, that He never sleeps on our prayers.

Before we lose hope or feel frustrated when our prayers are not answered, check first that (1) our focus is on Him and not for our own interest, (2) our reason for asking will please and honor God and (3) we are not in a lifestyle of sin.

If your checked all these, then look forward to 2012 as a year of grace—of answered prayers for our good and for God’s glory to be magnified. Let’s just keep our hearts pure and put God in the center of our lives. And God will answer.