The Bible says, “[I]f we ask anything according to his [God’s] will he hears us” (1Jn 5:14–15). The Bible adds, “And whatever we ask we receive from Him” (1 Jn 3:22). If our prayer request is not answered immediately, we should always trust God has his good will. A trusting prayer in God is what “praying in faith” means. We should never try to force God into our own time schedule. For example, apostle Paul once asked the Lord three times for removal of a thorn in the flesh, which was a messenger of Satan (possibly a physical affliction); however, God never granted Paul’s request. Instead, God’s will was to teach Paul a valuable lesson in life: that God’s grace is always sufficient (2 Cor 12:7–8). Moses once prayed the Lord would allow him to cross the Jordan River, but the Lord would not grant his request (Deut 3:25, 29). Sometimes, God’s lessons are hard for us to swallow, for they are a bitter pill. Still, we must learn from life’s harsh lessons to become stronger. Knowing this, Paul resolved to fully submitting to the Lord, saying, “The will of the Lord be done” (Acts 21:14).
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