Right Answer, Wrong Prayer

When I was in college I took a beginning photography class. I had always loved photography, and even did some freelance work for friends and family. I remember working in a 24-hour photo developing store at a local shopping mall. I am not old by any means, but I remember mixing chemicals in order to process negatives and make prints! Many pictures were beautiful because the subject was close to the camera. As I admired those photos, I easily forgot there was more to the environment than the picture revealed. The only way to see the rest of the background was to zoom the camera lens out in order to capture a wider view.

Too often I have a macro view on my own life. The lens of my vision is zoomed in so close that I can only see the issue in front of me at that moment: I want to get my Bible reading done before anyone wakes. I need to get breakfast ready. My kids need to get ready for school. We need to leave to get there on time. Homework needs done and I have to make supper. She needs to go to catechism; he needs to go to youth group, and my husband needs to show me a funny video he just found. Oh, wait! Did somebody feed the dog? I am sure you can relate. So when I pray to my heavenly King I catch myself being a little arrogant. I assume I know the best answer for the prayer I’m submitting. More often than not, God shows me that he is zoomed out. He sees a much bigger picture, and a much better answer.

I had been praying for good weather on the day of a book signing I was to attend. I wanted to sit outside the store to be more visible. When the morning came it was very windy, and I was discouraged. I prayed hard, but the wind didn’t die down. My husband prayed I’d be successful in selling many books. The banner I tried to display outside was down in seconds so I had to bring it inside and hang it in the window. That day both my husband and I prayed, but my husband’s prayer was the correct one; the one our Lord answered.

The sun was shining. The air was warm. My illustrator and I sold many books, which was an answer to my husband’s prayer! Then I discovered the reason the wind wouldn’t die down, which was my prayer. Our last visitor of the day was a friend of mine who is a few years more mature than I. She asked how I came up with the story of my first book, to which I replied with some of the hard trials I have survived. When I finished, she shared her growing pains with me. My friend told me how good it made her feel to hear my story, and to see how far I’ve come. She said she needed hearing aids, but didn’t have them yet. Even in the store, she had a hard time hearing me. If we would have been outside, my friend would not have been able to sit and visit. God wanted to comfort and encourage one of his more mature daughters, and he provided the environment necessary to do so. When I was able to zoom the lens of my vision out to see the full picture, I knew the wind was the Lord’s right answer to my wrong prayer!

As you do not know what is the way of the wind,
Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,
So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.

Ecclesiastes 11:5 NKJV