UNANSWERED PRAYERS

My daughter recently asked me if moving into the new building feels like a dream come true. I said, “No. It actually feels more like a series of unanswered prayers that led me to something better than I asked for.”

I prayed we could stay longer at Mariners. I prayed to be able to build on the campus of SVCS before that. I prayed for a particular office building where we could transform the atrium into a sanctuary. I prayed for the abandoned Endevco building off the freeway. I prayed for (and coveted) several other churches and pursued ideas of merger with them.  I prayed for the two buildings along the freeway that we thought we were getting that fell through. I prayed for the “Vista Montana” property that the Mormons got instead next to San Juan Hills. I prayed with confidence that God was giving us these places. Not just hope. Confidence.

He didn’t. I was disappointed every time. Confused. I thought I heard from God on several of these. There were signs. Connections. Invitations. Discussions that made it sound like things were headed that way.

Closed doors. Slammed doors. Locked doors. Doors to nowhere. Those are all guidance too.

It’s a good thing God doesn’t answer all my prayers the way I want. Thank God for unanswered prayers!