I’m going to be honest, I really struggle with this one right now. I mean, there are definitely things I’ve wanted and prayed for that I didn’t get, and I was better off not getting them. I’ve had crushes on people that were better left alone and God steered me away from them. I’ve had things I wanted to pursue that I found out later on would have been a huge disaster. So for those things, I’m thankful.
However, I’ve had just as many things that I brought before God in prayer that were not answered, and I can’t begin to imagine the purpose behind them. I’ve been married twice, prayed constantly when things went bad (provided, significantly more so in my second marriage), and they both still ended in divorce. Numerous times I’ve taken steps to further my career, or improve my living situation for the benefit of my kids as well as myself. Always covered all those things in prayer, and every time, I’ve gotten doors shut hard and I was always left back where I started.
So I mean yes, some things I’ve prayed for I’ve gotten no for answer and learned to accept it and be thankful. But just as often, I’ve gotten a no, and I just don’t understand why. Especially over things that I truly believed that God would want to preserve. And yes, I know in those situations we should be refocusing our relationship with God, and building our faith, but when I feel like they’ve happened so often, over things that would line up with living a Christian life, it just starts getting really tiring and exhausting.
