Unanswered Prayers

Unanswered Prayers
By Garth Brooks

Just the other night a hometown football game
My wife and I ran into my old high school flame
And as I introduced them the past came back to me
And I couldn't help but think of the way things used to be

She was the one that I'd wanted for all times
And each night I'd spend prayin' that God would make her mine
And if he'd only grant me this wish I wished back then
I'd never ask for anything again

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

She wasn't quite the angel that I remembered in my dreams
And I could tell that time had changed me
Inn her eyes too it seemed
We tried to talk about the old days
There wasn't much we could recall
I guess the Lord knows what he's doin' after all

And as she walked away and I looked at my wife
And then and there I thanked the good Lord
For the gifts in my life

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
That just because he may not answer doesn't mean he don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

I get so frustrated sometimes when I pray and pray for something, and it seems like God just isn’t listening. I keep forgetting that God isn’t always going to give me everything I want, as if He were a white-bearded Santa Claus. No, we can have all the faith in the world, but God will still only give us the things we need, or things that we will use wisely and not take for granted. Sometimes I just need a little reminder. This time, the reminder came through Pastor Mike when he quoted a few lines from this song which, not being a fan of country music, I have never heard before.

Pastor Mike’s sermon last Sunday was about answered, and unanswered, prayer and this song fit in very nicely. I should mention here that I almost missed the message entirely. My mind was wandering during the sermon, as it sometimes does, but I caught the reference to the song. Today, I remembered the song and decided to look it up. God knows that a song will always capture, and hold, my attention where other devices may not, so I guess that’s why He had Pastor Mike slip this one into his sermon.

James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

We always ask for God to change our circumstances, when actually God uses our circumstances to change us.
Joyce Meyer