Does God always answer prayers the way we hope? No. And that’s the hang up for many. What happens when I do believe God can show up in a big way, and He doesn’t? What happens when I am faithful and seeking after Him, and no one seems to answer? When my child dies? When my parent doesn’t make it? When my spouse doesn’t come home? When the check isn’t in the mail? When the relationship is never restored? When the person doesn’t choose to change? WHERE was GOD?

The truth is He never left. He may not have answered your and my prayers in the way we HOPED and expected, but He was still there. As one of my friends so eloquently put it: “We were expecting the healer God, and we got the provider God.” Those times HURT, but God still comes through for you, though in ways you didn’t expect. Sometimes those ways are evident immediately, sometimes months or years later, sometimes never. But believe Him when He promises to “never leave you or forsake you” (Heb. 3:5) And believe that Prayer is still Powerful.