Homicide detective Felix Jimenez spends most of his time looking for criminals. But when ValuJet Flight 592 plunged into the Florida Everglades, he found himself probing the alligator-infested waters looking for remains from the crash. Fifteen days after the plane exploded and crashed, the flight recorder box, often known as the "black box", still had not been found.
When Jimenez stopped for a break, he bowed his head and prayed, "God, so far I’ve just prayed for You to keep everyone safe out here and I haven’t asked for Your help finding anything. Now I’m asking You to help us find the recorder." And what happened? Jimenez said, "The next time I put my probe into the water, it hit the recorder."
God answers prayer four ways. The first way is a direct answer. That’s what Detective Jimenez had–the kind we all want. But many times God’s timetable is different from ours. He sees the end from the beginning. He also works in the hearts of those for whom we are praying–sometimes softening, sometimes preparing a way that isn’t apparent to us who look at people or situations from a distance. Call these answers delayed.
The third way that God answers prayer is through disguised answers. I’ve found that the answers to many of my prayers fall into this category. God doesn’t answer the way I think He should. He gives me something better. A situation that I hadn’t even envisioned eliminates the burden or the problem. A disguised answer from the loving hand of the Father is better than our own solution.
The fourth way that God answers prayer is a definite resounding "No!" Request denied. But it isn’t a divine but harsh "You can’t have this!" which comes out of anger or harshness. It is the loving voice of a Father who lets us know that He loves us too much to give us everything we demand.
We have to learn to trust the heart of the Father who knows what we need far better than we do. As Jesus put it, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11). - Resource Reading: Matthew 7:1-12