Written By: Nikki Threatt
One of the hardest things for me in my faith is accepting that God does things in His own time, not ours. Also, the answer is not always yes, but that is a whole different blog. If you are like me, your prayers vary from praying for other people, to thanking God for the things He has done, to asking him for the things you need. The Bible calls us to cast our burdens upon Him and to leave our needs at His feet because He will take care of you. I know I am not alone when I can say that on the surface, not all my prayers are answered. Even the famous Garth Brooks wrote a song about unanswered prayers. What if I were to tell you that your prayers are not just simply unanswered, they are answered by God in His way on His time.
In this current tough season in my life, I have noticed God speaking to me and humbling me in so many ways. One way I have noticed God speaking to me, in particular, is the way He has been answering my prayers. I have asked for specific things, I won’t go into detail, but sometimes I have to think outside the box to see His answers. For example, with my husband and I both not having start dates for our jobs, we are starting to struggle financially. While our prayers have been focused more on this one area, we have to trust that this particular prayer will be answered in His time.
Meanwhile, while we only live off of military retirement, we are blessed that our banking facility allowed us to skip a vehicle payment with no negative actions. More so, God spoke to a member of our new church family about us in particular. His message was evident as we were handed an envelope from “The Church” last Sunday. Once in the car, I opened it to find a $200 grocery gift card; I immediately cried. My first thought was, “I don’t want to be a charity case” THAT WAS THE DEVIL TALKING! This was GOD providing! No, He didn’t make money rain from the sky, or pay our mortgage, or grow a money tree in our yard, but He was providing! $200 in this current season of our lives is a lot!
It’s hard to see these little things as God providing when it may not be exactly what you are praying for. It is easy to miss the ways God provides when you are only looking “inside the box” per se of what you are praying for. This season of my life has humbled me more than I can explain. It has shown me how to stop and give my thinking that I can control things to God, to fully surrender, to really say, “Okay, God You are in control, You will provide,” It’s not easy, it’s so hard! We have four kids to feed, and God has provided. More importantly, He is showing me to trust in Him and relinquish my control to Him, and He will continue to provide.
So I challenge you in your season, whether it be tough or easy as you pray, look around you, look “outside the box” for where and how your prayers are being answered. It might not even be for yourself, maybe you prayed hard for another person, and it that prayer did not get answered the way you wanted it to. But look outside the box at how God did help the situation. It is not always the way we want it or think it should be handled, but I promise you if you look deeper, God is there taking care of you.
Written By: Nikki Threatt
