Editor’s note – The author describes a familiar tension: we ask God for something, decide what the answer should look like, then feel thrown off when His answer doesn’t match. This piece follows one week where a business shift didn’t go as planned – until it became clear God had already answered, just not on the terms expected, only on His own.
Have you ever prayed about something and, without really realizing it, already decided how God should answer?
I’ve done that before. I pray and tell God that I trust Him, but somewhere along the way, I form an idea in my mind of what the answer should look like. Then, if things don’t happen the way I expected, it can throw me off.
That happened to me this week.
Something in my business took a different turn than I expected. I had been praying about it, and when things didn’t go the way I thought they would, my first reaction was basically, God, why didn’t You answer my prayer?
But then I had to stop myself.
God had answered. The problem was that His answer didn’t look like the one I had already created in my mind.
I Had to Let Go of My Own Expectations
Once I realized what I was doing, I had to take a step back and pray differently.
Instead of focusing on why something hadn’t worked out the way I wanted, I reminded myself of what I’ve been learning about alignment. I don’t want God to simply approve all my plans. I want to follow His plans.
My prayer became more like, Okay, God. I trust You. I believe You’re opening the right doors and closing the ones I don’t need to walk through. Show me what You want me to focus on instead.
That’s not always easy.
We see such a small piece of what’s happening in our lives. We see the opportunity in front of us, the prayer we’ve been praying, and the outcome we think would be best. God sees everything we can’t see.
Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. [Proverbs 3:5-6]
That phrase lean not on your own understanding stood out to me again this week.
My understanding said one thing should happen. God was directing me somewhere else.
Editor’s note – The hard phrase in Proverbs 3:5-6 is “lean not on your own understanding.” That’s a call to hold our conclusions loosely enough that God can override them.
What Looked Like a Detour Was Actually Direction
By the end of the week, I could see things differently.
When I stopped focusing on what hadn’t happened and started focusing on what I felt God was directing me toward, I began to see expansion in another area of my business.
And I had one of those moments where I thought, Wow. God was right.
Of course He was.
It’s almost funny how many times I need to relearn that lesson. In my human mind, I can become so convinced that I know what’s best. I can look at the circumstances and think I’ve figured out exactly how everything should unfold.
But God keeps reminding me that my job isn’t to figure out every detail ahead of time.
My job is to trust Him and take the next step He’s putting in front of me.
Psalm 37:5 says:
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this. [Psalm 37:5]
That’s where I want to live – not trying to force my plans to work, but committing what I’m doing to God and remaining willing to change direction when He leads me somewhere I wasn’t expecting.
Editor’s note – Committing your way to the Lord isn’t one-time surrender. It’s a daily choice to keep opening our hands after we’ve already let go.
Don’t Miss God’s Direction Because it Doesn’t Match Your Assumptions
I think one danger of deciding ahead of time how God should answer us is that we can focus so much on the answer we expect that we miss what He’s actually doing.
- Maybe the door didn’t open.
- Maybe something didn’t happen on the timeline you expected.
- Maybe God redirected your attention somewhere you weren’t planning to go.
Editor’s note – A closed door or missed timeline can feel like unanswered prayer. Scripture only promises that redirection comes from a Father who sees what we can’t.
Our first reaction can be disappointment because we’re looking at what didn’t happen. But what if we stopped and asked, God, what are You doing instead?
I’m thankful I did that this week.
What initially felt like God hadn’t answered my prayer became a reminder that He was directing me all along. I just needed to stop looking for the answer I expected long enough to recognize His direction.
God is always at work. Sometimes we can clearly see what He’s doing; other times, much of it happens behind the scenes.
That’s why I want to slow down before rushing ahead with my own ideas and listen more closely when God shows me the next step.
I don’t need Him to answer every prayer the way I think He should.
I need to trust that His answer comes from a perspective I don’t have.
Have you ever realized that God answered one of your prayers differently than you expected? Looking back, could you see why His way was better than what you originally had in mind?
A Word from the Editor
Trusting God with our plans means trusting Him with the specific answer, not just the outcome we hoped for. Scripture promises that leaning on Him, rather than our own reading of things, will make our path straight. The real question is whether we recognize His answer when it doesn’t match what we expected.
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
Distributed by – BCWorldview.org
Editor Comment: Proverbs 3:5-6 promises that leaning on God instead of our own understanding makes our path straight. Returning to that verse once your own plan didn't pan out shows a person choosing trust over a tidy explanation.
This article appeared on Medium and is reprinted with modifications and by permission.