When requests are made known to God and not immediately answered, the reason may be one of the following: either that the request was premature, or because it has been made unworthily or vaingloriously, or because if granted it may lead to conceit, or negligence and carelessness would result. St. John of the Ladder
I can't tell you how many times I've prayed to God for help. Really what I've most often wanted was a quick fix to an annoying problem. Or I wanted some magic. "Please God, make that boy like me," or "Please God, make that deadline be pushed back since I haven't started it yet," or "Please God, send me an answer to this question which I'm not patient enough to wait for the answer." I'm assuming a lot of you know the drill. You've been there.
The waiting is always the hardest part (see Tom Petty below, which also happens to be one of my most favorite songs). You ask. You pray. And then, nothing. Did he hear me? Am I being punished? Did I pray incorrectly? What is going on?
I've learned that sometimes you have to be careful to pray for the right thing. And that sometimes, we don't have the same perspective about what our needs/wants are when God is looking at the big pictures. Have a little faith. Be patient and see what He has in store for you. Most often, His plan is far better than ours ever was.
