Seeking God in Prayer

Most of us when we go to God in prayer know exactly what we want God to do.  When we pray, we ask God for what we want and know in our minds how he ought to answer our prayers.  I am reminded of the old story of the man who was caught in a flood.  As the water rose, his street had an inch of water covering it.  A truck came by to pick him up but the man said, " no.  I have prayed and I am trusting God to save me."  Later as the water was lapping at his front door, a boat came by.  The driver said, "hop on board, and I will save you."  The man said, "no, I have prayed and God will save me."  Later, as he was sitting on his roof, a helicopter came by to save him.  The man said, "no, I have prayed, God will save me."  The man died and as he was sitting before God, he complained.  He said, "God, I trusted you, why did you not save me?"  God said, I sent you a truck, a boat, and a helicopter, why did you not take one of them."

The man had in his mind what he wanted God to do and how he should do it.  God answered his prayer but the man did not recognize it.  The same thing can happen to us.  We need to pray and trust God to answer our prayers the way he sees fit.  We may not get what we want, but we will get what we need.  He will provide all our needs according to the way he wants, not what we think.  When we pray, we need to open our eyes to see what God does next.