Let's Talk About a Song and Some Prayer.

Recently I have been really into the country music from my elementary school years. Back when I had never even been to California, when I lived in my home state of Texas, and back when country music was so very different than it is now. I'm not talking about Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood. (Not that there is anything wrong with them.) I'm talking about the original Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Toby Keith, and Tim McGraw, to name a few. Listening to this music with an adult set of ears has really clued me in on what the meanings were behind the songs these artists sang.
There is one in particular that has really been hitting home. When I was younger I had no idea what Garth Brooks was talking about when he sang "Unanswered Prayers" I just thought it was a pretty song. Now that I've become an adult, been married, and had kids, it takes on a HUGE new meaning for me. I never thought before in my wildest dreams that I would say to myself, "Thank God he didn't answer that prayer when I wanted him to so badly." I just thought that when I prayed and it went unanswered I was just put on the back burner and he would get to answering it when he was done with the more important ones. Now I know of course that God doesn't look at our prayers as one more important than the other, he has a plan, already put into place and already on a roll. I know now that everything that I truly needed/wanted/hoped for was fulfilled.
The things I prayed for before kids were so trivial (if that's what you want to call it) "Jesus, please let me pass my driving test." "Jesus, please let John call me today." "Jesus, please help me get through this week of school without another girl yelling at me for something that wont matter to her in 4 years." "Jesus, I beg you to help me pass my driving test THIS time."
Then after I got pregnant they started to get a little more serious. "Jesus, please let me not lose my baby because of this bleeding." "Jesus, please show me it will be okay if my baby ends up having Down Syndrome." "Jesus, guide me through this pregnancy without a man there to help me." "Jesus, protect me during this C-section so I can live to be my sons mother." "Jesus, thank you so much for my beautiful baby boy, but now can you please show me the way to be a single mother."
Then I got even older, he guided me through the absolute hardest three years of my life and then I married Ryan and they changed even more. "Jesus, please give me the strength to keep working for my family while Ryan is trying to find a job, oh and can you go ahead and help him find one." "Jesus, I wasn't expecting this pregnancy but thank you, now can you seriously help Ryan find a job before I end up on bed rest." "Jesus, thank you for putting a job out there for Ryan, please don't let me lose this baby because of this bleeding...again." "Jesus, protect me through this C-section so I can continue to be a mother to my son and now a mother to my daughter." "Jesus, thank you so much for my beautiful baby girl, now can you please give me the patience to be a mother to two, a wife, and still keep my sanity." "Jesus, please let Gabriella sleep for a few hours so I can get the laundry done, the dishes washed, and spend some quality time with Max."
Now when I pray, I pray for people I don't know, I pray for people I love, I pray for my family, and I pray for the sake of PRAYING. "Jesus, you have blessed me so much now will you please bless my friend with a baby, her and her husband desperately want one and are having a really hard time." "Jesus, help my friend get through her husband being out of the country serving our country, hes a good man." "Jesus, show her what shes doing wrong and how she can fix it." "Jesus, bless her even though we don't get along." "Jesus, please help my girl get over her cold, shes so sad when shes sick." "Jesus, help Max sleep through the night without nightmares." "Jesus, keep your hand over my brother, he needs guidance right now." "Jesus, make sure my dad knows I love him too much for words." "Jesus, keep your hand under my friends flight to Korea to be with her husband." "Jesus, I know you're sick of hearing me for all these years but please please please keep my family healthy."

I don't know if I was just rambling on but I seriously have had these HUGE feelings inside of me that I wish I would have known the power of prayer when I was younger. I really wanted to share with you all that you should never stop praying. The prayers that have gone unanswered were just that because they weren't in the blueprints of your life. Youtube the song "Unanswered Prayers" if you haven't heard it and remind yourself that he is ALWAYS listening.
Talk to you soon,
J