Unanswered Prayer

“But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go.”
– John 21:18,19 (RSV)

“My son wanted to join the army,” said my friend Sue, “and I prayed it wouldn’t happen.” We were sitting at a fast-food restaurant with several other parents. Our young teens sat in the next booth following an evening of swing dancing. Sue continued, “My son then told me the army wouldn’t take him because he had asthma. Never was I so thankful for his asthma!”

Laughter ensued, along with comments about God hearing her prayers. But deep inside I questioned God because one of my beloved sons was leaving for the army in exactly thirty days and I too had prayed it wouldn’t happen. Why didn’t God answer my prayers? Where was God when I begged that my son would be taken on a different trajectory?

I kept silent, remembering the paths which the Mother of Jesus was asked to walk. One such path gave her the title, “Our Mother of Sorrows.”

There is a large painting I walk past when traversing the hallway of a local Abbey on my way to the quiet chapel where I love to pray in solitude. The painting shows Our Blessed Mother standing, head bowed, suffering deeply, while behind her in the background is a ghostly image of her Son hanging on the cross. Did Mary beg God that Jesus not be crucified or perhaps ask that He be spared death entirely? Might she too have felt like her prayers were left unanswered?

We can turn to Our Mother of Sorrows and ask her to pray for us.

God in Heaven, we know not the mystery of seeing some prayers answered the way we desire while others seem ignored, but we submit to Your sovereignty. Allow us to keep trusting You amidst unwanted change.

Consider: Is there an intention you have prayed which seems unanswered or was answered in a way you wouldn’t have chosen? Remember our Blessed Mother’s example and take heart.

View Lisa Livezey’s 1-minute photo devotions at https://www.lisalivezey.com/olivetree.