Unanswered Prayers

I asked God for strength that I might achieve,

I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health that I might do great things,

I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy,

I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men,

I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life,

I was given life that I might enjoy all things,

I got nothing that I asked for but everything I had hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

-Written by an Unknown Confederate soldier who was wounded and severely disabled during a bloody battle. Blessings & Battlefields, The Civil War, by Terry Tuley.

Jesus says, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8 NKJV emphasis added).

Scripture says, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NKJV emphasis added).

In Acts 15:8, we read, “So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us” (NKJV emphasis added).

How gracious is our Father to supply our every need, not to heed to our every want. His purpose is not to create for us a sedate, safe, and comfortable existence. As the Bible clearly illustrates, God’s plan from the beginning has been to redeem and transform His children, with the Person and character of His Son Jesus as the template. 

Paul writes, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:16-18 NKJV).

As man, apart from God, cannot fathom the depth of his sin and wickedness, he also cannot know the needs of his soul. Only the Father, who knows our being, can supply those things that bring us into the fullness of His grace, His presence, and His life. They are otherworldly, counter to our nature and experience, but give us a taste of true abundant life.

Our earthbound prayers do not scratch the surface of the riches that the Lord would make available to us in the Person of His Son. We need to only yield to Him and ask. There is so much more that awaits us than simply a change in circumstance. Those things that challenge us, frustrate us, vex us, and threaten to keep us up at night are often the very things God uses to draw us closer to Him.

We pray and ask for deliverance and that deliverance entails walking through the fire instead of around it. When we trust in God’s plan and goodness to bring us out of a struggle or to move us above a difficulty, we emerge from the darkness with our pride weakened, but our faith strengthened. 

In Romans 8:25-26, Paul says, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (NKJV).

Abundant life awaits in the secret place where trust and a tender heart welcomes the Almighty Living God.  

Let us trust Him and be richly blessed.

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Rachael Molle‘ began following the Great Shepherd Jesus Christ over twenty years ago, one month before she married the love of her life. She loves the Scriptures and writes about the importance of God‘s truth and love in the lives of His people. She lives with her family in a small town in Maryland.