The Unseen Hand

Our family had just moved into a new neighbourhood with single-family homes and fenced backyards. It was time to consider getting a dog! We saw an ad in the paper for a beagle, and I was reminded of the comic strip Peanuts. "Ooh!" I thought, "How cute a Snoopy dog would be!" Alas, I stopped at "cute" and didn't think about other important factors. We didn't realize that beagles are members of the hound family and are barkers — not good for a quiet residential neighbourhood! They also love to dig and are escape artists. So much for a fenced back yard!

When we called to inquire about the ad, we learned that the dog had already gone to a new owner. Our brief disappointment soon dissipated, however, when we realized in retrospect that our wish would not ultimately have been best for us. We settled on a cat rather than a dog, and have never regretted our choice.

How often we pray for something that we discover later on would not have been good for us! I have usually categorized God's answers to prayers as simply being "yes", "no", or "wait". I now think that there is at least a fourth category: God's behind-the-scenes work in answering prayer — "The Hidden Hand". He may well be answering our prayers in ways that we may never know. God's answer may be, "I know everything about you, and I will answer as I know is best." It's entirely possible that we will never fully recognize or identify God's answer, but we can fully trust Him to do exactly what is best.

We are invited and encouraged to bring our requests to God fervently, but our asking must be done as an act of faith, not simply out of personal desire. We can trust His answers even when we can't see them.

Isaiah 55:9 – For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. (NLT)

Just as my family's close call to obtaining an unsuitable dog turned out for the best, so our so-called "unanswered" prayers may also prove best for us in the long run. In retrospect, we will often be able to see how God's behind-the-scenes answers to our prayers were far better than what we'd asked for. We can be thankful that God sometimes preserves and protects us from the potential harmful consequences of our ill-considered requests.

Something to think about: Are we willing to trust fully that God is working behind the scenes in answering our prayers in the best way possible, even if we never see a concrete answer?

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, thank You that You know every detail of our lives, and that You are always working behind the scenes to do what is best for us. May we accept the answers that You give to our prayers — even when we may not see them. Amen.