“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'” – Isaiah 55:8-9
Around Thanksgiving time last year, my daughter’s Kindle broke. Unfortunately, this was her second one. However, she truly loves her Kindle and has it loaded with eBooks. There was no way we’d be able to get away with not replacing it.
We maybe could have sent it in on a warranty repair, but that was iffy, and this was the second one that broke under her watch (neither time was her fault – they just wore out). We considered getting her a newer Kindle in the hopes that perhaps the newer models would last longer, but they are a bit pricey and somewhat limited in functionality.
We ultimately decided to get her a tablet for Christmas. They have way more features, seemed more durable, and with the Kindle app, would take care of her eBook needs. It was also only slightly more expensive than a Kindle. Really, it was a perfect solution for her, especially since she’s getting older and she’s really hard to buy gifts for.
The problem was that the Kindle broke over a month before Christmas. She was going to have to wait. She asked us numerous times when we’d get her Kindle repaired and we kept putting her off because we had a better plan for her that needed time to come to fruition. We knew she’d be delighted with the tablet when she got it, but things were going to be rough for a while…
When she got it on Christmas morning, she was absolutely thrilled. Suddenly, everything that we’d said to her about her Kindle made sense. She couldn’t see it at the time, but now she saw what we were planning for her. Her request was honored in a way she didn’t expect, and in the process, she learned about how much her parents love her. We as parents delighted in surprising our daughter and doing something unexpected.
I submit that my daughter’s Kindle “dilemma” looks a lot like how God works in our lives through prayer.
We’re generally conditioned to look at the world through a lens of actions and outcomes. We work hard at our job, we expect a raise. We eat right, we lose weight. We break something, we get a replacement.
We also would prefer instant answers to our “needs” in life. We are a society of instant gratification. If we want something, we go get it. Forget “saving up” for something – throw it on the credit card or borrow the money. If the TV is broken, go get a new one. We don’t need to wait!
These two key things conspire against us in our prayer life. We expect to have our prayers answered exactly the way we’re looking for, and we’re impatient with God while His plan unfolds. Sometimes, our prayers even DO get answered and we miss it because “the answer” doesn’t look the way we expect it to. Either way, we end up discouraged when we shouldn’t be.
In having this attitude, we miss out on major opportunities to see how amazing God really is and what He is really like. I believe He delights in revealing Himself to us in unexpected ways and blessing us beyond our wildest dreams, just like we had planned to do for our daughter. Ask yourself this question – wouldn’t you rather be surprised beyond your expectations and wait a little longer for something than to settle but be instantly gratified?
I think God hard-wired us to love a good surprise for a reason. Surprises make us feel special. They make us feel loved. They draw us closer to the person(s) who planned the surprise.
It seems to me that the element of “surprise” works for God’s purposes too. Many times, He’s got a plan for us that will defy our greatest expectations if we will only let go and allow HIS plan to work for us. This requires not only patience, but trust in His character that He is good, all the time. And, as my daughter wasn’t shy about continuing to ask that her Kindle be fixed, we should continue to petition God for what we need. He doesn’t mind being asked again and against any more than we minded being asked about the broken Kindle, and indeed, we are instructed by the Apostle Paul to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
These days, I am able to look at prayers that are not yet answered as opportunities to be more mindful and watchful for God at work. And, when I have to wait, I know that God’s working it all out, and that His plan will look a whole lot better and a serve a higher purpose than mine ever could!