Always. But Not Always.

God always answers prayer. 

Sometimes the answer is yes.  Sometimes it's no.  Sometimes it's not right now.

But God always answers.

He just doesn't always answer exactly as we would like Him to.

Last night as we were getting ready for bed, we had our bedtime prayer together.  One of the specific things we prayed for was a good night's sleep.

One of the consequences of my surgery, for me, is a fatigue that never seems to go away.  At least in part, it's because of my RA.  Fatigue is a fact of life.  And having a replacement part hasn't made the RA disappear.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  The stress of major surgery has caused the RA to rear its ugly head, lest I forget it's still there.  As if I could.  So, there's the RA fatigue.  And there's the trying to get comfortable in bed at night, which is easier said than done these days.  Maybe part of my problem is that I'm sleeping too much in the daytime.  But I can't seem to help myself.  I sit down.  I go to sleep.  That's how it is.  So, I'm tired, and could really use a good night of uninterrupted sleep.

Meanwhile, Al is also fatigued.  He still has his "day job" to deal with.  And there's the stress of overseeing his parents' care from a distance.  There's the housekeeping and the cooking and the grocery shopping and the laundry, and all those things I normally do but am unable to do right now.  There are all his responsibilities as my caregiver, dispensing meds and keeping the ice machine filled and driving me to therapy and all those things.  As a result, he is understandably tired.  Very tired.  He could use a good night of uninterrupted sleep.

That's what we prayed for last night.  But things didn't turn out as we had hoped. 

About 2AM, one of our smoke detectors went off.  Just one short sound, and then no more.  Just enough to interrupt sleep.  Just enough to have to get up and try to figure out what's going on.  Just enough to ruin a good night's sleep.

I'm not sure what that was all about.  I'm not sure why, when we had prayed specifically for a good night of uninterrupted sleep, God did not answer in the way we had hoped.

What I am sure of is that God answers prayer.  Always.

I am equally sure that He doesn't always answer exactly as we wish He would.

Last night is proof of that.

Does that mean I should stop praying?

Of course not.

It means I continue to pray.  And to trust.  And to believe that God has a plan and a purpose for all things.  And that His way is best.

Even when I don't understand.

Even when I'm tired.

Because God always answers.  Just not always the way I expect.

Even so, I continue to pray.

And tonight I will pray again for a good night of uninterrupted sleep.  Perhaps this will be the night He says yes.

[Jesus said] "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." (Mark 11:24 NASB)

[Jesus said], "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."  (John 14:13 NASB)