“Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
- 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 ESV
I was laying there on the back porch…
watching my human stare off into the yard like he’d lost something.
He does that sometimes.
Not like when he loses his keys—
he says louder words then.
This is quieter.
He just sighs… and talks to God under his breath.
I don’t understand all the words…
but I know the tone.
It’s the same tone I had when I used to scratch at the door begging to chase that one car down the road.
I just knew I needed it.
I just knew I’d be happier if I caught it.
Funny thing is… my human never let me.
At the time, I thought he was holding out on me.
Now I know—
He was saving me.
And as I watched him sitting there,
I got to thinking…
Maybe some of those prayers he’s sighing about are a lot like that car.
Maybe what feels like a “no” is really a hand on the collar saying,
“Easy there… that road’s not for you.”
I’ve lived long enough at his feet to know this truth:
My human loves me too much to give me everything I ask for.
And if that’s true of him…
How much more true is it of God?
So I scooted a little closer,
laid my head on his shoe,
and let him know without words—
Some prayers don’t get answered
the way we want…
Because they’re being answered
in a better way we can’t yet see.
And that’s not neglect.
That’s love.
Like the old Garth Brooks song that sometimes echos through the house— We should “Thank God for Unanswered Prayers”
“Sometimes, I thank God, for unanswered prayers.
Remember, when you're talkin' to the man upstairs…
Just because, he doesn't answer, doesn't mean he don't care.
Some of God's greatest gifts, are unanswered prayers”
- as sung by Garth Brooks
