“Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears!” (Psalm 39:12)

“God didn’t answer my prayer.”

Have you ever said that? Have you ever thought it?

In my experience, when someone says that God didn’t answer their prayer, what they usually mean is that God didn’t answer their prayer in the way that they wanted.

That can be hard. I get it. I’ve been there too.

But just because God didn’t do what you wanted him to do, that doesn’t mean he isn’t doing something, and it certainly doesn’t mean that he isn’t doing something great that you simply can’t see (yet).

J.I. Packer puts it like this: “God always reserves the right to answer our requests in a better way than we make them.”*

I realize this might be difficult to hear. This devotional is read, listened to, or shared by a variety of different people with different backgrounds. Your desperate prayers and very personal and powerful. At the same time, might this be hopeful to hear as well. Here’s why.

Our view is limited. God’s is not. Our love is limited. God’s is not. Our wisdom is limited. God’s is not. Our power is limited. God’s is not.

Have you ever wondered why God didn’t answer your prayer? Maybe you need to look at things from a different angle.

Keep growing. Keep serving. Keep praying—and keep trusting.

“God always reserves the right to answer our requests in a better way than we make them.”*

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Notes:

–*J.I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness: Know the Fullness of Life with God (Wheaton: Crossway, 2021), 2nd ed., 269.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.