God promises in His Word that He hears our prayers. Every day, we bring cares and concerns to Him. Whether it is an illness, loneliness, or uncertainty regarding the direction to take with school or a job, we can trust God to answer. The problem is that we have expectations about not only how our prayers ought to be answered but also when the resolution should be accomplished. We need to remember that prayer isn’t about our will. It is about trusting in the fulfillment of God’s will. Our prayers will be answered according to the Lord’s will, not ours.

We must also remember that the answer to prayer is not always “yes.” It may, at times, be “no” or “not yet.” But the important point is to trust that the Lord has our best interests at heart. We don’t see the whole picture—He does. We may not even see the answer to a prayer in our lifetime. But the true power of our prayer is in faith that God is always working. Trust in His timetable requires both faith and courage. We may not understand until we enter eternity why God allows us to endure certain struggles and heartaches. But until that time, we can rest assured that God loves us and is beside us through it all.