Unanswered prayer is one of the things that confronts me as I walk with Christ. So much doubt and fear are injected into my faith when I feel that God is not listening. But my recent experiences tells me that it is not God who is not listening but me. I had struggled for years with my faith attempting to understand why the Father would put me through so much anguish in my life, then one day I came to a better understanding of my walk with Him.
The Old Testament speaks about seeking His face but when I did this I saw a subtlety that I had not noticed before. As I turned my face toward Him and opened my hands and arms to receive whatever He had for me, it was I who turned away (and at times ran away) from Him because I did not want to receive from Him those things that I deemed negative (the positive things, for sure I accepted hungrily) and uncomfortable. But clearly He conveyed to me that those things that I saw as adversarial was His way to allow me to know Him better. So, cautiously I received from Him those circumstances that were hard and looked to Him to teach me what He knew I needed to learn to know Him better. As I began to quiet my spirit and listen to His voice within me I began a journey that took me to a place of dependency upon Him, this, I knew, was what He was attempting to do all along when He set that “mountain” squarely in my path. Where I was only seeing the obstacle in front of me, He was using it to allow me to become more and more dependent upon Him.
My son has been in trouble with the law for many years and it forced me down a path that, at first, I did not want to walk. But walk I did and instead of struggling and attempting to run away and hide, I opened my heart to the Father and received from Him the “negative” circumstances of my life. I quieted my spirit and allowed the obstacle that sat impeding my progress forward to wash over me and receive from Him, because I knew, beyond any doubt, that He loved me and only had good intentions for me. I discovered a gem within the adversity, within the difficult circumstances: a love for my son that I never knew existed. It was His love, originating in Heaven and given to those that are Christ followers. A great and awesome gift for sure.
Now I view obstacles as a way to receive from Him. I don’t run away but trust Him because I know His love for me is very real and awaiting on the other side of the mountain is a deeper dependency on Him with all its glories.
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