Not right now.......

"Unanswered Prayers".......that was the topic of our sermon at church yesterday. My first thought was- Oh my..can I relate to that? I think we can all relate to this sermon. My second thought was- I knew I should have brought tissues.

The sermon went a little like this (I will paraphrase, mostly because I only remember certain things).....

When thinking about unanswered prayers, to make things a little easier they are categorized into three sections. First, there are prayers where the answer is simply "no". Sometimes we pray for things that we just can't have. Sometimes the answer is no and although we don't realize it, it's for our own good. Sometimes we just pray for silly things. Can you imagine what this world would be like if every prayer was answered? (I would be married to Luke Perry, or who ever I wanted to marry in Middle and High School) We will never understand why some prayers are answered and some are not, we just have to trust in the will and plan of God.

Some prayers are answered with a "not right now". This is a tough one, as just when you think the prayer is going unnoticed, you may get your answer. Our timing is not necessarily the RIGHT timing, but His timing is always perfect. Maybe we aren't ready for whatever we have prayed for. Maybe we can't possibly handle that particular thing at that particular moment. Not right now was the answer to my prayers for nearly two years (although I didn't know it at the time). It was the hardest thing for me to understand and grasp. I cried through this part of the sermon (it might be the pregnancy hormones, but I doubt it). It was very emotional for everyone listening and the good news is I wasn't the only one crying. I couldn't help but think about how the whole time my prayers were being heard, I just never realized it.

The last set of unanswered prayers are those with no answer at all. There is not a stern no, there is not a maybe later....there is nothing. Much like the first category, we will never understand why these prayers go without any answers. We will never be able to fully grasp what God has in store for those most affected by these prayers. We simply have to have faith that there is so much more at work than we can understand and that the overall plan is what is best for each of us. Naturally, these prayers are the hardest to handle because you feel as though your prayers aren't being heard. But, they are being heard, each and every one of them is being heard. Sometimes unanswered prayers are really blessings in disguise. We just don't usually recognize these things until much further down the road.

Brandon and I are so thankful for our (un)answered prayers. Each and every one of them. The ones that were answered with the stern NO, the ones that got the NOT RIGHT NOW, and the ones we will never understand why received no answers at all. These are the things that make our lives special and keep us living according to God's will.