Sometimes we pray to God and we already have in our minds how we think he should answer. In fact, we pray with our desired answer foremost in our mind. While it can be helpful to visualize God working in a situation, we run this risk of being dismayed or confused when the answer doesn’t come in the manner we expect. Many times (if not most of the time), God answers us in ways we never expected. For example, we pray that a loved one gets saved only to find them in a crisis situation where they appear to be further from the Lord than ever. But we need to realize that His ways are not our ways, but His way is ALWAYS the best way. What appears to us as defeat may be the exact circumstance needed to bring about the ultimate goal of our request. I would encourage you to pray and ask God to answer your prayers in the BEST way, even if it means inconvenience and short-term heartache. Don’t look for the easy way out, but wait on God to show you how He is working. Then, most importantly of all, trust Him that He will bring it to pass. Praise Him each and every day for loving us so much so as to not give us our requests according to our will, our way.