Answered prayers: YES, NO and NOT NOW

I always hear friends and acquaintances rejoicing over answered prayers. This meant that something they have been praying for has arrived or happened to them.

Growing up, I used to believed that if I prayed enough, God grants my prayers and intentions, whatever they may be.

"God has three answers to our prayer intentions: YES, NO, and NOT NOW."

I heard this during a mass at my high school.

This was an eye-opener for me.

The most common affirmation we witness of answered prayers is when God says, YES. Our intentions are heard, and things go as planned. We get what we want, and we are thankful and ecstatic.

The two answers that are always forgotten are NO and NOT NOW.

 According to the priest who said the homily, NO is the most misunderstood answer that we receive from God.

We often get disappointed when we do not get what we pray for. I get this because this also happens to me until now. Like what my father always tells me, "God has his own plans." Though I am aware of this, I cannot deny that I get frustrated when things do not go my way.

Later on, will I eventually realize that it was a blessing in disguise, that what I prayed for did not flourish for a reason. It might have caused me harm, or it might have endangered me in the long run.

NOT NOW. I am an impatient person. There are times I can be patient, but I noticed that when I ask something in prayers, it has a tone of "please make it happen as soon as possible."

Understanding God's answer or "NOT NOW" is a work in progress for me. There are times that I understand, and there are times that I just bombard God with prayers out of desperation.

After a month or two, my prayers are finally answered. Some things need a little compromise, as a whole, my prayers were answered.

I still have a lot more to work on when it comes to my prayers. Though I just wanted to share it out here, maybe someone out there needs to read it - to hear it.