Prayers That Go Unanswered

Or that take a really looooooong time.

Do you thank God for them? Or do you say, "Come on! I really don't see how it can work unless I get it now!" or "It's about time, God!"

I'll be honest and say that I've uttered those words in complete irreverence to God, His sovereignty, and His timing. Frustration gets the best of all of us and I, in particular, am not known for having much patience. (Don't snicker! You know who you are!)

I could write a whole book on the prayers that went seemingly unanswered. Now I see they weren't unanswered. They were a "no." And thank God for the "no's" in my life. But like I said, that could be a whole book...let's focus.

Since looking for a house to move to and the blessings of that story, there have been a whole bunch more minor stories (if there is anything 'minor' about God working and blessings).

One of which, is our air conditioner. It has been broken pretty much all summer long. I know you all have heard me complain about it, so no more complaints. That is not what this post is about.

This is about the praises of our family lifted to God in prayer, rejoicing, and reverence of a God who sees all, knows all, and counts our hairs on our head...or, in our case, the sweat beads on our brow.

This is about a hard-working husband in a stable job.

This is about finding renters for our house.

This is about family nights and scriptures and putting the things we tell our kids they SHOULD do into practice so they can see it lived out.

This is about having a husband who is long-suffering and wise to wait on God to work on our behalf. And is willing to call the warranty company and politely complain every time I called him YELLING about how HOT I was. (Don't pay any attention to Mommy, kids!)

This is about me NOT picking up the phone and cursing at people who are not doing their job the day after I've spent three hours just lying in bed awake...sweating. Because that wouldn't be a good Christian witness. And because my husband told me not to. (Ok, you can look now.)

This is about the blessing of family. They offered their homes, their beds, their money, their food, their condolences. My parents let us stay with them and bought us a portable air conditioner that managed to keep the down-stairs actually livable! Kevin and Brooke...stayed at their house. ALL SIX OF US. And then she even made breakfast. My sister offered her house and was a sounding board and champion in my corner telling me how ticked she is FOR me and willing to call on my behalf. Cindy told me the same thing. Sometimes, that's all you need to hear from someone. My in-laws offered their house, their pool, their babysitting services....

This is about a God who made a way where we saw no way. This is about a God who blessed us abundantly with a house, and then blessed us again with things for our house. And then...again...in taking care of us while we are in the house.

This is about Noah having a school-teacher who goes to our church, taking away my last anxiety over putting him in public school this year.

This is about yard-saling and having a husband who watches our kids so I can spend his hard-earned money. (I told you he was long-suffering.) I'm really saving him money, you know. If I bought this stuff at a store it'd be way more expensive. So I spend five bucks to save $15. See????

This is about getting completely reimbursed for the portable air-conditioning unit when they originally said they would only pay $150.00 of the $440.00 it cost. God knew that the woman helping us was connected to us through a string of past circumstances with friends we've made along the way....we just found out. Today.

If I use my blog for anything, I hope it is to sing the praises of a God who cares, gives talents and blessings, and moves to turn the things Satan would intend for evil to good for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28, Genesis 50:20) So be encouraged! Have patience and know that God is moving, right now, on your behalf.

Even though you don't deserve it. (Ouch. Isn't that always the part that makes you rethink what you think about God's love?)
Even though I don't deserve it.
We never will.

Aaahh...Grace. Aaahh...Mercy.

There are strings being pulled on the puppet that you can't see but...

...it's still making the puppet move.