By Kimberly Faith | December 6, 2019

Answered prayer isn’t necessarily getting what we want.

Sometimes it’s being set free from what we want so we can have the best God has planned for us.

God is the source of all goodness.

Do you believe He has planned the best possible life for you?

What do you think the best answer to your prayers looks like, anyway?

We often think we know what’s best for ourselves. But our limited capacity allows to see what we want or need for only the very near future.

We have little insight into eternity.

God’s Spirit working through us allows us to live larger than life.

Related: The Faithful Friendship You Might Be Missing

Answered prayer transports us out of living chained to our basic needs or controlled by pain or physical desires so we can live for a purpose greater than ourselves.

We learn our lack of comfort is incidental to the greater purpose God has for us.

We learn to pray for God’s will to be done no matter what the circumstances.

That’s what Jesus did. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed twice for deliverance — in such agony — He sweat drops of blood.

He prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew‬ ‭26:39, 42‬).

In the end, His immeasurable pain purchased our salvation.

Related: Why Praying Throughout the Day Is a Really Good Idea

The Father answered His prayer — not by deliverance from the pain — but by allowing Him to go through with salvation’s plan and become the answer to prayer for humanity’s most desperate need.

What an amazing answer to prayer.

Jesus instructed us about how to pray our Heavenly Father, which included: “Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

I’ll confess, in times of pain it’s difficult to pray honestly and earnestly for God’s will because I’m afraid it will be inconsistent with my comfort or my desire.

Related: ‘The Closer We Get to God, The Smaller Our Troubles Seem’

But He is a good Father. His way is always best.

When we know Him, we trust Him to do everything best.

When God answers our prayers, He opens doors to eternal blessings we would never experience without Him.

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5‬:14-15‬).‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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