We too can rejoice in whatever answer God gives. He is the Creator; we are His creatures. He is the Master; we are His servants. He is the Father; we are His children. How much better that His will be honored rather than ours! Besides giving due respect to His rightful position, we rejoice in His answers because His love endures forever. He is the source of every good gift (Matthew 7:11; James 1:13, 17). In true prayer we either receive what we specifically request or, if we do not get that, we get something far better. We may not always be able to see immediately how everything will work for good, but of this we can be sure: God’s wisdom is always greater, His love always better than ours. That eternal truth is reflected in His answers to our submissive prayers.
If we feel that prayer is a matter of us saying, “Give!” and God must give to us, then we have turned the order of the universe up-side-down. The creature then wrenches control from the Creator. The thing made manipulates the Maker. The student teaches the Teacher. The servant orders the Master. The child leads his Father. In short, man attempts to take the place of God. Rather, we should have the faith of Job that lets God be God (Job 1:21-22).
We honor God as God by firmly trusting His promises about prayer. But that is not where it ends…. We continue to let God be God by respecting His right to fulfill those wonderful promises in His own time and in His own way. This simply acknowledges the superiority of His wisdom over ours. Even when circumstances seem to turn against us, and the very opposite of what we request seems to prevail, we hold fast to the goodness of His purpose and the faithfulness of His promise. As Job said, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15).