Unanswered Prayers

I grew up in Nashville and country music is part of my DNA. It’s not the first thing you’ll hear on my radio, but if you dig into my music library you’ll find a lot of Willie, Hank Jr. and my favorite
– the Man in Black. I also love Garth Brooks. When I hear the sounds of lightning strike and thunder roll, I have an uncontrollable urge to roll the windows down, turn the volume up and sing like nobody’s listening.

One of my favorite Garth songs is Unanswered Prayers (click on the song title if you want to hear it). The lyrics tell the story of a man who takes his wife to a football game at his old high school. They stop to talk to a woman he had dated back in the day.  He remembers how he had prayed for things to work out for them, but his prayer wasn’t answered. Later, he understood the genuine blessing when God brought him the true woman of his dreams.

I sympathize with the high school kid in the song, wanting something so badly that he would pay any price. I can imagine him sitting alone, lost in his thoughts, begging God to save a relationship that was failing. That feeling of powerlessness and desperation is too familiar.  It is the prayer of a humbled person spoken to the only one who can offer hope.

When life races out of control, we are drawn to Him. As we sink lower, our cries instinctively go higher. We know that he is powerful enough. With a thought, he can make any pain go away. Miracles happen every day.

Like every parent of a teenage child, I’ve laid in bed sleepless, long after the world fell asleep, praying that no harm would come to someone too naive to understand risk and too innocent to suspect the evil that roams the world. I have prayed for angels to guard my children. I asked for more than regular angels, but that he would assign the fiercest and most vigilant warriors to defend them from dark forces. “Please God, keep them safe.”

Physically, they survived unharmed. Did their hearts, though? When friends disappointed them or young love didn’t last, I would worry about the seeds that had been planted. “Please God, give them peace.”

The teen angst that marked those years seemed to stand in defiance of my prayers. All I could do was to pray for them and ask God to show them a love that changes destinies.

Countless mornings found me awake long before the sun rose or the kids got out of bed. I would leave brief notes taped to their doors for them to find when they woke up. I wanted them to feel that they were loved.

The messages were simple things like “I enjoyed our time together at dinner last night. You are funny. I love you.” or “You have good friends. Be thankful for them. I love you.”

They never acknowledged they had read or even seen the notes. I wondered but was afraid to ask.

Other unanswered prayers came at the request of a friend. People whose own prayers remained unanswered and asked me to join them.

I have prayed faithfully for the reconciliation of broken families and watched them fall further apart. I have prayed passionately for healing and laid hands on friends whose sicknesses progressed.

I’ve asked other friends to join me in these prayers. We have sat together with heads bowed, begging for God to reveal himself. Sometimes he did, at other times he didn’t.

As the years have passed, the number of prayers that seemed unanswered has grown larger, and so has the number of people who have joined me in crying out for God to be with us and to comfort us. We know that he is big enough. We know that he loves us. He is faithful. He is good.

Through all of the pain, we stayed together. When no answers seemed to come, we held to each other tightly.

Recently, the miracle of the unanswered prayer revealed itself.

Kim asked me to provide her with a list of names to invite to my birthday party. It took just a few seconds to rattle off the people I hoped would come. After all, these were my best friends.

Later as everyone arrived at the party, I realized something.

People I had prayed for and others who had prayed alongside me were celebrating together. We laughed and remembered the good times we had shared and the things we loved in each other.

The pains that had once seemed unbearable were fading into the past. We remember each of them but have learned to find hope together. We have revealed our secrets to each other and shared our innermost pain. After battling hardships together, we know each other’s strengths and when to offer help. We are better together.

As music and laughter rang out, I realized that God had been answering our prayers all along. We had asked for momentary relief and in his wisdom, he had given us something much better. He provided friends. He connected us to love each other, pray together, and to give comfort when it is needed.

What an incredible answer to prayer.

As I was getting ready for bed that night, I plugged my phone into the charger and realized I had an unopened text message. It was a note from my daughter. It was digital but reminded me of all the ones I had left taped to her door, never knowing if she read them.

It was the best gift I received that birthday.

All those prayers I had made night after night to provide the kids with protection hadn’t gone unanswered. He had surrounded them with warriors who had a preternatural ability to sense danger, he made them brave enough to challenge any foe, and he gave them the ferocity to charge the gates of Hell to defend those entrusted to them.

These guardians were vigilant not only to outside threats but were charged with deflecting dangers that would harden hearts. They did all of it while remaining inconspicuously in the background. The kids never suspected a thing.

They only knew us as mom and dad.

God always hears our cries for help from the middle of the storm. He may not provide exactly what we request, but he answers our prayers. Sometimes when we ask for short-term relief, he responds with grace and gives us more than we asked for.

Thank you, Father.