God answers all prayers. This is a phrase we are well familiar with, but often misinterpret. When I was in sixth grade I thought this promise that “God answers all prayers” meant saying yes to everything I asked for. I figured an answer was the answer I wanted...I never stopped to consider that God might have a better plan.
 
One time I was so mad at my parents for not letting me go to a friend’s party, that I made my prayer pretty specific. I didn’t recognize it, but I was trying to control God.
 
My prayer pretty much went something like this...God, please let me go to Emily’s party at this address at this time on this date this year and by this deadline. Then I waited. When God didn’t answer my prayer the way I wanted, I was mad. In my mind, the God that was supposed to answer all my prayers had failed in His promise. I no longer trusted Him. I had lost my hope.
 
In hindsight, I sure am glad I didn’t go to that party. I was so desperate to be loved by my friends when in reality, most of the time I was invited, it was just to be the target of all their jokes. Even though this happened every time, I didn’t care. I just wanted to be included. But God knew better...I just wasn’t willing to admit that.
 
In most of our personal lives, we heartedly accept that “no” is a perfectly good answer. After all, anyone who has raised children knows they certainly don’t have the same foresight as adults do, often needing to be told no...and yet when it comes to us and what WE want, we truly do become like the little children of God...angry when He says no and thinking WE know best.
 
I am not a mom, but my cat Paul has certainly taught me a lot about the word no. Paul, like most animals, is a creature of routine. I come home from work, he is sitting in his exact spot by the garage door. I pick him up, pet him, he purrs. He jumps down and leads the way to the bathroom. We leave the bathroom. He goes to the front door, looks at me, and meows. It is time for our walk he says. It is one of his favorite parts of the day.
 
But one day, I couldn’t take him out. He became like a little Lassie, guiding me, making eye contact then walking to the door, and meowing like a desperate kitten. But I couldn’t take him out...because it was raining. And it broke my heart.
 
My cat is my baby. I didn’t like to see him crying or disappointed. The worst part was the fact that he couldn’t even understand me. Paul is an indoor cat. He doesn’t know what rain is. He didn’t know why we couldn’t go outside. He just cried all the louder trying to make me understand what I already knew. He wanted to go out, I wanted to take him out, but that didn’t change the fact that the answer was no...but he couldn’t hear me over his own desires.
 
Our prayer life with God is often the same way. We do not see the “rain outside” or listen to God’s answer if it isn’t what we want. Do you think God likes to tell us no? What parent has ever been happy about disappointing their kids and saying no, especially when they don’t understand? God watched me cry that day when I couldn’t go to my friend’s party. It hurt Him that I couldn’t understand. My pain hurt His heart. But He loved me enough to say no, even when I couldn’t see why. He didn’t say no for lack of love, but instead loved me so much that He was willing to say no to my short term happiness, because He saw the big picture.
 
In a sense, compared to God, you and I are all indoor cats. There is a big, huge world waiting out there that we can’t see or comprehend. God wants us to be happy, but this isn’t His main goal. His main goal is to get us to Heaven, and for this, sometimes He must say “no” or “not yet.” In the long term, a few years of waiting or suffering does not compare to a lifetime of joy, and God’s desires go even farther. He longs for us to have an eternity of joy with Him in Heaven.
 
The real question is, do I, and do you, trust God? We may never understand His answers in this life, but if we trust Him, that won’t matter. Because we will always realize that God has a better plan. And His plan is worth waiting for.