Scripture
Since we have this great confidence, we can also have great boldness before Him, for if we ask anything agreeable to His will, He will hear us. -I John 5:14
What happens when we've prayed according to His will and He answers our prayers, and His answer is different from what we expect? How will we respond? Do we question Him, "But, Lord, I thought....." Do we refuse to believe it, letting denial set in? "This can't be God. This must be the work of the adversary." Or, do we give Him thanks anyway, trusting that His word over our lives is the ultimate authority? Beloved, we must trust that even if the answers to our prayers are different than what we expected, God's plans are bigger and His hand is upon our lives. If we find it difficult to accept His answers to our prayers, then we have a problem with submission. Whatever His answers are, our response should be, "Nevertheless, Your will be done, Lord."
We must never put the Almighty God in a box. He sees our beginning, middle, and end, and when He speaks to us, He speaks from a place of the finished work in us. Like our parents did when we were growing up, we'll get more of what we need rather than what we want because what we want isn't always good for us. What I'm saying, Beloved, is that there's always a deeper work that the Lord is doing. Our prayers may be specific to our current situation, but His answer may be a response to provide endurance to get through the situation and many more like it. He may provide His presence and peace over direct solutions because this is what we need. He may be increasing our faith or working on our character through our situation, so to pull you out of it may disrupt the process.
Don't worry, we aren't the only ones who have received answers to prayers we didn't expect. Israel prayed for a Savior and God sent Jesus as a baby in a stable. Even when He started His ministry, they still expected some mighty warrior with a physical kingdom; they got a humble servant teaching about an invisible kingdom. Turns out, He was exactly what they needed. For without Him, where would we be? The Israelites prayed for deliverance from the Egyptians, and God sent a shuddering Moses. He was exactly what they needed. God sent Samuel to Jesse's house to anoint Israel's next king. He was expecting to anoint a man full of brawn, but he got David, a shepherd boy, one of Israel's greatest kings. So you see, Beloved, when God's answer is unexpected, you submit even more and trust His divine perspective over your limited understanding.
Prayer
Father, thank you for answering prayer. We submit to your will for our lives and align our actions to your Word. In Jesus' name. Amen
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