Unanswered Prayers?

I watched a really good devotional last week on BYU TV. It was a talk given by S. Michael Wilcox, I think that was his name. He is a CES instructor, so I guess he teaches Institute somewhere in Utah. I'm going to try to summarize his talk, so I hope I don't butcher it too much.

He started out talking about how God is a fourth watch God. Apparently back in the day, there were four watches during the night. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. was first watch, 9 p.m. to midnight was second watch, midnight to 3 a.m. was third watch, and 3 a.m. to sunrise was fourth watch. Most of us are first watch people. We want things right now, immediately. When we pray, we want the answer now. But it doesn't usually work that way. We need to be patient. The answer will come, but not until the fourth watch. Sometimes we may feel we've already gone around the clock a few times. This brings us to the second topic.

Tight like unto a dish. If you remember the story of the Jaredites. It mentions in the scriptures several times that their barges were "tight like unto a dish"
Ether 2: 17

17 "And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish."
Ether 6: 7

7 "And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters."

So sometimes, we think we aren't getting an answer to our prayers and we've already passed the fourth watch. It may be because we are "tight like unto dish". Meaning that we are prepared to withstand the trials we are facing. Just like the barges were able to withstand the crashing of the waves.

The third topic was a holding place. Sometimes we need a holding place prepared in our hearts before a prayer can be answered, so that we may fully understand. The example brother Willcox used in his talk was a personal experience. He said his father abandoned him when he was a baby along with his two sisters and mother. From the time he was 14 he started praying to be able to understand and forgive his father. But the answer never came. He kept repeating this prayer throughout his life, never receiving an answer. One day he was preparing a talk about families. At this point he was married with several children including two small sons ages six and two. While he was preparing his talk about families he was thinking about his father still not understanding or being able to forgive him. It was then he received his answer to this prayer.

He thought about his two sons and the life experiences he shared with them. He realized that it was his father who had missed out on sharing experiences with his son. And he was able to forgive him. Brother Willcox mentioned that it was merciful that his father didn't understand what he missed out on. So the point of the story was that his prayer was answered as soon as possible. He said he would not have been able to receive the answer before that time because he did not have a holding place in his heart for the answer. He needed to have children and even more than that he needed to have sons and to have shared some life experiences with them to fully understand the answer to his prayers.

And finally, bread or a stone.

Luke 11:11-12
11 "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?"

Heavenly Father will not give us something that is harmful or detrimental in answer to our prayers. Sometimes we may think we are getting a stone when in actuality we are given bread. In other words, we are not always given what we ask for but we are given what we need. The example that brother Willcox used was his mission call. He fervently prayed that he would be sent to the Netherlands on his mission. Everyone in his family went to the Netherlands on a mission. His grandfather and uncles all served in the Netherlands. So this is where he wanted to go. And as a postscript he prayed that he would not be sent to France. Well, as you can probably guess he was sent to France. So in answer to that prayer he felt he was given a stone instead of bread. But after a while he realized he was given bread. France is what he needed. He would not have had the same experiences in the Netherlands that he had in France. So sometimes we might not like the answer we are given but it is what we need.

In summary, here is the list of four topics:

1- God is a Fourth Watch God
2- Tight like unto a Dish
3- A Holding Place
4- Bread or a Stone

The next time you feel your prayers are not being answered, remember this talk and four categories. Most likely, one of these categories will apply to you. God is a loving God and He will answer our prayers as soon as He can.

That's my two cents.