The answer is a resounding YES!! My 16 yr old daughter with wisdom by the grace of God beyond her years, came to me last night with a few questions after counseling a friend who came to her in a posture of, "I have no one else to turn to...," and my daughter encouraged her that she can always turn to God. The friend's response was, "To be honest, I've tried to pray and I feel like God never answers my prayers, so I just gave up praying." :( Sadly, a response I hear all too often, and to be honest, have wrestled with in the past myself. It has been so burdensome to me since I had this conversation with my daughter last night that I was compelled to address it.
The truth of the matter is, GOD ALWAYS HEARS YOUR PRAYERS AND HE ALWAYS ANSWERS!! It may not always be the answer we were hoping for, but that does not mean He did not answer. It just means that He has that bird's eye view I've talked about in the past - the parade, I've mentioned where He can see the beginning float, the end float, and each and every float in between, but in our limited human eye, we can only see what the eye can see without the full perspective. He answers as He promises in Romans 8:28, that, "He works ALL things (not some things), ALL things for the GOOD of those who love Him," and that, "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:31,32. "He knows the plans He has for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon him and come and pray to him, and He will listen to you. You will seek Him and find Him when you seek Him with all your heart. He will be found by you." Jeremian 29: 11-14 (Paraphrased).
There you have it. God's spoken Word. What will you rely on when the troubles of this world seem to have no answers? Your feelings or the promises of a Holy God?
People ask me during a week like last week when the troubles and attacks of this world run rampant - from Sunday to Sunday - one child taken to the E.R. for a head injury (with no health insurance), another child found unconscious near a gas station by a man (I believe sent by the Lord) who called 911 and was taken by ambulance to the hospital for a suicide attempt, followed by being taken to jail due to the events leading up to, and my youngest being diagnosed and treated for Pnuemonia & Strep Throat (again with no health insurance), another family member that I love walking through medical testing to rule out pancreatic cancer, all while attempting to get unpacked, settled, and recover from job loss and relocation; I am asked, "How do you do it?"
The answer is simple. I don't. But God does. HOW possibly in my own stregnth could I stand in the face of such ongoing attack and trial? I can't. I have to acknowledge each and everyday when I awake from very sleepless nights most nights, before my feet hit the floor, "God, I can't do all that is before me today, so I acknowledge my full dependence on you today because in my weakness YOU are strong and I know that I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me stregnth.
Do my daily trials (and triumphs) mean that God does not hear or answer my prayers because things are not going as I have prayed and desire? Of course not! He absolutely hears my prayers and he absolutely is answering and he is also absolutely in control. A great illustration of this concept is through our parenting of our own children. We love, guide, direct, teach, dicipline, etc., our children, however we also know that they have a free will and that they are not puppets on a string, being controlled by our every move. Our ultimate goal is not to control our children, but to train them to make wise choices on their own without us because they have learned the value of consequences and favor for choices made. It is very much the same concept with our heavenly father (except that He always gets it right although we as human parents mess up all the time), that we have free will, he is in control and Sovereign, however, He is not a puppetier controlling us as puppets on strings. His desire is not for us to be robots, but for us to desire His perfect will for our lives because we have learned (through trial and the testing of our faith and development of our character) that honoring His way, is where our protection, blessing, and favor lie.
Is God not answering my prayers when my son chooses a path of destruction? No! That is not God's desire for his life. At the end of the day, I can trust that God is in complete control, he is listening, and anwering and sometimes the answer is not the path we would have chosen for ourselves, but He sees the beginning float, the end float, and every float in between and He knows what Zachary needs (he created him). But just as much as in my adult wisdom, as much as it grieves my heart, I have to make excrutiating choices each day to love Zachary without enabling him, which often means drawing really hard lines with him, I believe God is doing the same. Would I have chosen this path for him? Of course not. His heavenly father does not desire this path for him either. However, he is no less answering my prayers because he is loving Zachary without enabling him, knowing the end of the story that is still being written. He is writing your stories and every Chapter in between and He is not finished with you yet. So don't give up on Him. Don't stop praying! His Word does not return void, He is listening, He hears, and He answers. Aren't we grateful He doesn't ever give up on us?!
I have posted a song below this post I very specifically believe I was led to for YOU. I pray it blesses and encourages you today as you surrender your circumstances, worshipping through them and proclaiming the llyrics, "I call, you answer, and you came to my rescue and I wanna be where you are......"
