Answered Prayer?

"God, these daily headaches are intolerable. Please heal me now!"

"Lord, my boss is clueless and I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. Please help me get another job."

Christians almost universally agree that God answers prayer. But many people, if they were honest, would say, "The Lord answers most prayers, but not mine." We can often call out to God and not receive the satisfactory answer that we want.

The stumbling block isn't God's unwillingness or inability to respond; it's the word satisfactory
that gives us fits.

If we come to God with a preconceived idea of how to solve our problem, we'll likely overlook His true answer.

Sometimes we don't like God's solution. We desire freedom from physical ailments rather than an extra measure of grace to endure the pain. Or we want a new job, instead of seeking our boss's forgiveness for our bad attitude.

In other words, we want the Lord to fix everything without requiring any effort from us.

Our willingness to obey is the key to answered prayer. When He tells us how to resolve our problem(s), we should act as He directs, or we'll never be satisfied.

As I slowly grow, I'm learning to listen quietly and patiently, rather than requesting.