Garth Brooks wrote a song called Unanswered Prayers. I remember hearing it many years ago when it was popular. He talks about the time he and his wife ran into his old high school sweetheart. He remembered praying fervently that she would one day be his wife. But time has changed things to the point that he now can say, as the chorus goes:
Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs
And just because he may not answer doesn't mean he don't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.
I was thinking about this because very often at Thanksgiving, I try to remember all the good things in life that I can be grateful for. I have been greatly blessed, so my list is substantial. But my list is even longer if I also recognize that I can be grateful for the ways God did not answer my prayers in the way I had hoped or desired.
There was a time when I, too, prayed fervently that a certain young man would fall in love with me and desire me for his wife. It never happened. I thank God that He did not answer that prayer. That young man found another young woman attractive instead, and they are happily married to this day. And God showed me He wanted me for Himself. I think we are both happier because God’s wisdom was greater than my own.
I’ve heard all kinds of different stories of unanswered prayers. Someone prayed for sunshine and it rained out their picnic, but it watered the crops that sustained the farms. Another prayed to be on time for a meeting, only to discover that the delay in traffic saved her from being in a terrible accident. We’ve all prayed for friends and relatives who have not recovered from sicknesses or sufferings. Over time we come to see how the suffering has softened his heart or increased her courage. And what happens to our faith when a loved one we had prayed for dies? Can we believe that entering into eternal life is the ultimate good, the greatest gift that can be given to that person?
I often bring my hopes and desires for the day to the Lord in prayer in the morning, only to have Him “spoil my plans” as the day unfolds. In the evening, when I return to chapel and look back on the day with Him, sometimes I can see what He did with my unanswered prayers. I did not want it to happen this way, but He knew that His plan would bring about a greater good.
St. Paul, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, writes, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (5:16-18). If we are to give thanks in ALL circumstances, that means that sometimes we will need to give thanks for those situations in which things did not turn out according to our hopes, dreams, plans or prayers. This year, at Thanksgiving, let us remember to thank God for all the blessings He has poured out upon us, whether through prayers He has answered or those He has not.
Sr. Mary Catherine Kasuboski, T.O.R.
