I would surely like to tell you that God will answer all prayers.  It would be a joy to see you go to the Lord in prayer and have all of them answered.  My job is speak in truth and love to you regardless of the circumstances or outcome.  God will do what He promises and has promised to do.  Therefore, I have to say that God has not answered all my prayers.  His will, understanding and vision is beyond my own.  There are those prayers for the people in this world, His return, the millennium and eternity that have not yet come to pass or fall in that “yet” to be answered category.  However, there are prayers that I have delivered to ear of God and He has said No.  Can I be all right with that and still trust Him?  Yes, in fact Him not answering my prayers of limited understanding builds my faith.  For I know that He knows better than I do what is good for me in this life and the next.  And if He has chosen not to answer my prayers in the affirmative then there is a “Divine” reason for not doing so.

God is not a vending machine of favor.  He is not a one-stop shop or phantasmal genie where I rub the bottle, spin three times, spit to the east and my every wish comes to pass.  This type of wish granting is akin to the promises of the devil which always come with a warning, be careful what you wish for or watch for the catch.  The Lord has given us grace enough to escape our deserved outcome of eternal death and punishment.  I ask you isn’t that enough?  Does He have to make our lives easy and comfortable in this life when He has promised us those blessings in the next, especially when this one is so short and the next eternal?  However, let us not overlook the fact that He promised to give us whatever we ask for in His name.  What does that mean to ask for something in God’s name?  Does that mean if I say His name alongside the prayer that it will be granted?  Kind of sounds like the rub the bottle thing doesn’t it?  Could it be that since this life has been purchased at the price of the Savior’s Sacrifice that we must truly mean it when we say, “Thy Will Be Done, on Earth as it is in Heaven?”

Should our wishes be consistent with His Will for this life in order for them to be granted?  Wow, that is a novel and ideal concept.  I do not wholly know the answer to this question, meaning that the Holy Spirit has not given me clear guidance on this issue.  However, I do know that the Lord has delivered me from circumstances from which I could not have found escape.  I know that He has blessed me beyond reason or understanding, not only in material things but also in friendships, ministry opportunities, insights, talents and health.  The closer I become to God the more my prayers begin to resemble requests for His completed Will in my life and through my life.  I see my prayers changing to be about health for others, salvation for the multitude of the lost, blessing His mighty name and eternal reign and for His hand upon this world to be a catalyst for grand movement toward belief in His immeasurable Grace.  I never know which prayers the Lord will answer, but I do know that the ones He chooses to answer will always be the best for my life and for His Will.  And beneath that tree of trust and faith in the Lord I find my shade and rest.

Praise You Lord God.  Forgive me for doing those things that demonstrate a preference for anything over the moments and relationship with You.  I am not worthy of Your Grace and that is what makes it so amazing that You could love me this much.  I bask in the light of Your Love, Grace and favor.  Please never let me go astray even for a moment.  Jesus my King.