Being Thankful For Unanswered Prayers
I have had this on my heart for days now. Thinking back to times I have prayed certain prayers. I see some of them answered and some of them not answered. I can recognize now as time has past the ones that were selfish prayers and ones that were spirit filled prayers. God cares about everything, even the small things that go on in our life.
I can see with opened eyes many things God has done for me even without me having to ask Him to do. There are many things God does for us that we dont even know about. Like keeping us from getting sick or getting into a car accident. Giving us breath when we wake up. Being able to speak and see. Many little things to be thankful for each day.
When we are in a time of prayer sometimes we pray things that we should not. At that time we may not even see or understand why God is not answering that one prayer that we ask for so diligently. You know sometimes God just does not answer our prayers because He knows what is best for ourselves than we do. James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Looking back now to some of my very selfish prayers that I prayed, I fall to the ground with tears of thanking Him that He did not answer those certain prayers. OH LORD, please let your will be done in my life and not my will. I will not share what those prayers may have been. Just know that sometimes we just need to be thankful for some prayers that are not even answered. My life would be totally different now if some of those prayers would have come to pass.
Now, there are some prayers that you ask for that are not selfish and do not happen. We may ask, "Why did you not do this, or why did you allow that to happen". Sometimes life is just life. Sometimes things just happen or dont happen. That is when we take the scripture Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.
He allows us to go through the storm to learn. He allows us to make mistakes to learn. He did give us our own choice to do it our way or His way. To follow the flesh or to follow the Spirit.
For me, I am SOOOO very thankful for God not answering my fleshly selfish prayers. Then again sometimes He does allow those prayers to happen and the only thing that comes from that is destruction, unhappiness, and more sin. He allows us to go through such things to learn from it. Something someone told me once was this, "you will continue going through that same trial until you finally pass it and do it Gods way or you will continue to have that trial come your way in different ways until you master it".