The Narrow Roads

I was visiting with another Christian woman at a wrestling tournament not too long ago. She was telling me a story about something she had gone through and how she had prayed, but things didn’t turn out the way she prayed. She said she couldn’t understand why things still didn’t go well. She asked the Lord, why? The Lord was generous and gave her an answer. He said, “Imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t prayed.” This very thing has come to my heart many times when I have prayed for something. I have lined out in my head how God should answer my prayers, and I have prayed the perfect prayer to make it happen (so I think). God should answer it my way, right? Unfortunately, that’s not how it works, but what would have happened if I hadn’t prayed? How bad could it have been?

Have you ever prayed and prayed, fasted and fasted, gave and gave, only to come out short? Have you ever had so much faith in the prayer you prayed only for God not to answer it? Have your unanswered prayers ever left you feeling that God didn’t hear you, or cared about you? Have you ever wanted to turn your back on God because He didn’t answer your prayer? Of course you have, we all have. We have all wondered why God didn’t answer our prayers. We have all asked the question, “Why?”

We tend to put God in a box and we want Him to answer our prayers according to our will and purpose. We/I will get in this mindset that if I pray the right prayer enough times, God will cave and do my will. I pray without even asking Him what His will is. I shy away from praying the prayer, “Not my will, but Your will be done, Lord.” What if God answers my prayers in a way that is uncomfortable to me and will still hurt? So, I go back to wanting prayers answered my way in my time.

So, what if I hadn’t prayed or what if you hadn’t prayed? Years ago, we were travelling and hit black ice and slid off the road. Our truck didn’t come out so well, but we all did. Once we ran off the road, we were not out of danger. Other cars were coming off the road and we nearly got hit by a white van. The van was so close that I could see the passenger’s eyes and saw she was wearing a white top. We got out ok and it was a long road to get our truck fixed and during that time, our other vehicle broke down. That day we had the accident, I had called my prayer group and asked them to pray for our trip, because I had a bad feeling. What would have happened had I not prayed or had others pray? Things could have gone so much worse. I could have lost my family that day, and I didn’t.

We have no idea how many bullets we dodge in a day, because we don’t see the big picture from heaven. We have no idea how many times God has pulled us out from in front of a car or from something dropping on our heads. It sounds extreme, but it’s true. We don’t see things in the spiritual realm to even begin to know what God protects us from. We can’t even comprehend how much God protects our kids. We send them to school, and they come home safe. We can’t possibly know what God does that we can’t see. So, let me ask you again, what if you hadn’t prayed? What if you didn’t ask God to protect your loved ones? What if you didn’t pray over your trip? What if people around you hadn’t prayed for you or your situation? Without prayer, things could be worse.

Sometimes we pray and things still go wrong and it’s awful. I prayed that God would heal Andy from the first stroke. Instead, he had another stroke and then another and yet another. Now is health is worse than when we started on this journey. Times like these are when we really ask God, “Why?” Sometimes, we don’t get an answer, and we may never know why. This is when our faith is tested and our hearts for God are tested. This is when we don’t understand why things went south when we prayed. I don’t have the answer for those situations. What I do know is that in times like these, that’s when God wants us to draw close to Him. Those are the times that He wants us to grab on to Him and trust Him more than we ever thought we could. Things will go wrong, because we live in a broken world with broken people. I am so glad we have a Savior who loves us and never leaves our sides.

I encourage you to keep praying. No matter how hard it is or how bad it hurts, keep praying. Keep coming before the Lord, even if your prayers are only tears, and no words. God will meet you in whatever place you are spiritually. Just remember, what would happen if you didn’t pray? Thanks again for reading my blog, and I pray that this article encourages you in some way.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.”

Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.”

Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus prayed this prayer and He still died on the cross a painful death, but His faith didn’t waiver.