Lent: Day 6

Unanswered Prayers

Scripture: Luke 18: 1-8, 35-43

“Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers” according to the words of a popular Garth Brooks song from 1990. At the time I remember being completely taken aback by the sentiment that an unanswered prayer could be a gift. How could that be? If we as Christians are called to bring our joys, sorrows, deepest wishes and desires to God in prayer, then how can an unanswered prayer be anything but a rebuke from Him? It felt like a condemnation of the selfishness of one’s request, or the sense of being ignored by the One we worship.

As time has passed, the words to that song have haunted me. I have come to appreciate, if not completely agree with, the sentiment that an unanswered prayer could be a gift. To see it as such means learning to trust with your whole heart that God’s desire for good in your life will reveal itself over time. It means being certain that no matter how bleak the circumstances of your life may be at any given moment, when looked back upon with grace and love, the events seem to have worked out just the way they were supposed to.

If all prayers were answered without question, then I would: be in possession of the world’s largest collection of Smurf figurines (a heartfelt wish/prayer from my elementary school years); have been given a full academic scholarship to Amherst College; have become a horse racing jockey (alas, by the time I was 10 I was already taller than the tallest professional jockey at the time); and be living in a hut in Africa as part of the Doctors Without Borders group (I entertained the notion of medical school years ago).

Was I disappointed at the time when I felt that God was not listening? Absolutely. Was I happy about not getting what I fervently prayed for? Not one little bit. And yet, what would I have missed out on? A lot!

Garth Brooks got it right in the lyrics of his song. He sums it up by saying, “Sometimes I thank God, for unanswered prayers. Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs; that just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care. Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”

Prayer: Dear God, Help us to know that even when we cannot have our prayers answered in the way we might wish, that You are always with us. May we learn to trust that unanswered prayers are Your way of saying, “Just wait for what I have planned for you!” Amen.