When You Need A Prayer Answered To Believe In Gods Goodness

There can be a misconception with believers that because you believe in God, you never have thoughts of doubt, question Gods goodness, the value in living life for Christ and even his existence. It can surprise people to hear a believer share that they have moments or even seasons where their faith is tested because of the assumption that being a Christian means you are fully removed from ever struggling in your faith.

I know that I've had MANY moments of my walk being challenged, if being obedient to Christ was really better than simply just believing in him while doing my own thing and even struggling to see his goodness when I'm in a season of hurt.

Sometimes, it's not the fulfillment in receiving the thing that we are praying for that we need so desperately, but the confirmation in receiving to know that God is who he says he is. We need the prayer answered to confirm that he will in fact answer all prayers as stated in Mark 11:24 and that he not only hears us, but will answer our prayers as stated in 1 John 5:14-15. Having a prayer answered confirms that he he didn't forget about us and had a hope and future for us as he said he did in Jeremiah 29:11.

I used to dream of visiting New York and Los Angeles as a kid. My family didn't go on many vacations, and when we did they were usually only a few hours away, like to the popular go to for many mid-westerners, Wisconsin Dells. I wanted to visit New York and even one day live in Los Angeles, which at that time seemed like a big, impossible dream. Just after college, I crossed one of those dreams off the list by taking my first flight to LA, where only 2 years later I would end up relocating to. I still dreamed of going to New York, even having literal dreams of flying over Central Park, seeing the skyline and walking around the city. I ended up going for the first time for my 27th birthday and have returned countless times since. Not long after my first visit to New York, I added the dream of visiting Paris to the list of dream places to one day visit. I had a trip booked but due to an unexpected loss days before, my friend and I had to cancel last minute. I continued to dream of going, wondering if it would ever happen. In 2016 I received my first passport stamp, finally seeing the Eiffel Tower with my own eyes. I can remember crying as I looked at it, not only because the I was in Paris looking at such an iconic landmark, but because no one could take away from me this blessing that God answered.

He did what he said he would in answering a prayer that felt unlikely to ever happen. While for some it may not have seemed impossible, I didn't think it would ever happen. I cried because I realized just as he gave me this vision of seeing something I didn't think would happen, he would also one day have me see my groom as I walked down the aisle and the blessing of holding my baby. It was bigger than the Eiffel Tower and Paris, it was the answer to a prayer that felt impossible. He started with smaller prayers, like seeing New York and not just seeing but living in Los Angeles, to moving to bigger prayers like Paris. By answering those prayers, in time my confidence in what I prayed for got bigger, and I no longer doubted there was anywhere on this earth I would not see.

In 2015 my Mom suffered a brain aneurysm and to remove it, had to have major brain surgery. During those 12 hours of surgery, I wanted nothing more than to see my Mom and have her be herself again. She remained in a coma like state for 2 days after the surgery, so when she came to, it was that feeling of seeing the Eiffel Tower all over again. It gave me confidence of seeing God as a healer, and trusting him now as I continued to pray for others as they go through health and medical situations, because I had seen first hand what God could do.

The more God reveals himself in answered prayers, the more we believe in and trust in him, and know how good he is. Our prayers go higher, to the point we laugh at what we once desired and how small they were to struggle to believe in. It becomes less and less about the thing we are praying over, but in seeing Gods hand to strengthen our faith.

The challenge in this is that God will not always answer in the way we are praying for, and that we may remain in years, even decades of wait. When this happens, we understandably can have our faith shaken, confused in how in this he remains to be good. Even if we have other things to be thankful for, it can cause us to question when there are areas that do not line up.

God never promised us in life we will receive everything we desire, that will would go without struggles or be free from tragedy. He has promised us 2 things-that if we believe we will receive his kingdom in John 3:16 and that there is a season for everything in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

Knowing this, we have to be careful to not put Gods goodness in our answered prayers or season, but on his promises. He has promised us an eternity where our earthly desires and worries can't compare to our afterlife. I know how hard it is to think towards the kingdom when facing hurt, desires and needs here on earth. But Matthew 6:33 gives comfort that God knows our needs, and to put first the kingdom of God and all else will follow after that. The "all else" of that verse may result in shifting our desires as they may be too small or cause us to stumble in our walk if we receive before it's proper timing. When stemming from hurt from a loss, focusing on the kingdom gives comfort in understanding the goodness of God for giving us a promise of a heaven that cannot compare to anything on this earth.

Finding comfort while waiting for a prayer is hard, and we will not all have an "Eiffel Tower" moment like I was blessed to have in every area of our life. That doesn't remove Gods goodness, it instead is reason for us to remove our focus on what defines it. He is not good for what he does, but for who he is, and the promise of an afterlife that he has guaranteed for all of his children.

Focus on this verse for peace and confidence in God's goodness and promises:

However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him

(1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV)