Prayer Has Changed My Life!

I've been thinking and praying over Isabella's Lullaby for some time now; it hasn't come to me just yet, but I've been learning many things. Today as I've been writing about life surrounding her conception and birth, it's got me thinking about prayer.

Prayer...some think that God hears them and some don't. I believe that God hears and answers all my prayers - He answers them all in different ways though - either "Yes", "No", or "Wait". Prayer has been a huge part of my life and I can't live without it. It's second nature to ask God for things or just to have conversations with Him or to vent or to just express myself in anyway that I need to with Him. He is my best friend. He always hears me and He always answers, but it's not always the answer that I want. In a way, it is just like me with my kids, I always give them an answer to their questions and pleas, it's just not always what they want to hear, but I still answer them, just as God always answers me. I personally have never had years of silence from God. Not that I don't believe in it; I just haven't experienced it. Anytime that I thought He was being silent, I was just ignoring what He was telling me and blaming it on Him for being silent. Another thought for another day.

I asked God for a little girl for a few years. Nehemiah came, then Valiant; I asked God for a girl, but He gave Levi; I asked Him again, but He gave Peter; I asked Him yet again and He finally said "Yes" and has given us our Isabella. I prayed for Isabella 3 times before God finally said yes. But two times He answered me, with "No, you need this boy." And He knew better than I. For I would not trade Levi or Peter for two girls. I love my boys so very much.

God has given me so much understanding when I was faced with disappointment of being told "No" again and again. He's taught me not to give up asking for what I want and to seek Him for when He says "No" and not to become anger and bitter at Him for "messing up" my life. This is just one of many examples that I could give in the story of how Prayer has Changed my Life. God is good; He works things out for my good; He is not out to "mess up" my life but to make it beautiful and show Himself in the experiences that He gives to me.

Anyway, I hope this is a blessing to someone. I hope that you will keep on praying to God and building a relationship with Him and come to understand Who He is and how much He desires to be in your life. I hope that you will, if you don't already, have many stories about How Prayer Has Changed Your Life. I'd love to hear your story/stories