“You didn’t listen to me!”

  

My Child: “You didn’t listen to me!”

Me: “I did listen and I responded.”

As I was about to say more to my child, the thought occurred to me once again how much I am like a child. How often do I feel like God is not listening? In that moment as I watched my child storm out of the room, I realized he thought I was not listening, not because he did not hear me, but because I was not handling the situation in the way he wanted me to. How many times have I had the very same thoughts towards God? It feels like God is not listening or like He does not understand or maybe even that he does not care. But He already knew and understood our grievance perfectly before we ever brought it to Him. He knew before it even happened!

His “lack of action” does not mean He is not listening, but it could be that His answer is not something I want to hear. His answer could be “no” or “wait” or “I already have.” I need to remind myself of the prayers He has already answered more often. It is too easy to forget how good He is, how kind He is, and how wise He is, when my list of wants is all I am focused on. I’m thankful for the little reminder to be patient when I pray. I may not get the answer I want, but God’s plan is bigger than I can see.

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