Excerpt Day 16 God answers prayers in His own wayBut Naaman became angry and stalked away. "I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!" he said. "I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the LORD his God and heal me! Aren't the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn't I wash in them and be healed?" So Naaman turned and went away in a rage. (2 Kings 5:11-12 NLT)
Here's a little background: Naaman went to Elisha to be healed of his leprosy. He went to Elisha's house and waited at the door for him. Instead of coming out, Elisha sent a messenger giving him instructions on what he must do to be healed: wash seven times in the Jordan River. As you can see from today's meditational verses, Naaman became angry because he thought he would be healed in a different way. He thought that things would play out differently. Doesn't this same thing happen to us as well?
We seek God for a closer relationship with Him, new careers, new opportunities, financial stability, etc., and He answers us. But what happens? The answer comes in a way that we didn't expect. We've prayed about this thing for so long that we've already come up with how God is going to do it! Right? Then all of a sudden, we're in for a big surprise! We become frustrated, angry or even disappointed.
Just because things don't happen as we thought they would, we shouldn't get discouraged. God's thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. (Isaiah 55:8) I encourage you to be receptive to God's answers to your prayers even when they don't come in the way you expected. God knows what is best for you and His plan for your life is far greater than anything you can imagine.
Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, open my eyes and heart to Your blessings and Your answers to my prayers even when the answers aren't as I thought they would be. Help me find comfort in knowing that You have my best interest in mind and that Your plan for my life is far greater than any plans I could ever make. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Additional Scripture reading: 2 Kings 5 and Isaiah 55:8

God's greatest desire for us is to love Him and others. To love Him is to obey Him, and we often miss the mark because we don't spend quality time in His presence learning His word. Not Without You is a one-year devotional that will guide you into spending time in God's presence: praying, studying,