God always answers our prayers. Sometimes He says, "yes," other times He says, "no," and sometimes He says, "not yet." When we decide to start documenting and recording God's answers, we will find that we are going to write out the times that God says yes. We will rejoice when God gives us the desires of our hearts, and stand in awe of the beautiful harmony of when our desire aligns with the Master's.
But if we only recorded the times that God said yes, we would have a pretty blank "Answers" section to our journal. And that is because sometimes God says no. It is in the "no" that we learn to submit our will to the Lord's, and though with gradual understanding, we suffice to know that He knows what's best. This can be hard, but it is here in the mystery that we can trust an infinitely great God to handle what we can't comprehend. Knowing that God is good all the time and the He encompasses all that is moral allows us to trust Him when He says no. Often, as time goes by and retrospect becomes clearer we are able to then write out God's revealing reasons as to why He closed the door on that particular prayer request. (Sometimes we won't have an understanding until we get to heaven, and that's ok).
And then there's times when God says "not yet." In these persevering prayers we truly learn to walk by faith and not by sight. It's here in the waiting where God displays His strength. This process of trusting in God produces the kind of faith that stands the fire and proves pure like gold. When one chooses to trust and not fear, we truly please God (for it is impossible to please God without faith). Not to say that during our perseverance we don't fall in weakness, but as the scriptures testify even if a righteous man falls seven times, he will rise again (psalm 24:16). Perseverance is a perfect time to journal. We should never think that we should only record God's definitive answers like "yes" and "no"- but we should document, record, meditate, ponder, acknowledge, and appreciate what God is doing in the waiting time.
Regardless of whether God says, "yes," "no," or "not yet," God is ALWAYS worthy of our worship, thanksgiving, and adoration.
To reflect on God's answers by writing them down in our unique "Prayer and Answer Journal," go here: Remembering His Promises Prayer and Answer Journal
Amen?
Blessings,
Akiko