One day you will thank God for not answering the prayers you thought you wanted.

Angel: She keeps praying the same prayer.

God: I know. But she’s outgrowing it.

Her prayers are starting to shift, even though she hasn’t noticed yet.

– Jacqueline Whitney

Angel: What do you mean?

God: She’s been praying for what she wanted a year ago. And I’ve been listening. But the version of her praying now isn’t the same version who first asked. She’s grown. She’s healed. She’s different.

Angel: So her prayers should be different too?

God: Her prayers are starting to shift, even though she hasn’t noticed yet. She’s beginning to want different things. The relationship she begged for last year? It wouldn’t fit her now. The job she was desperate for? She’s already outgrown it. The version of her life she was praying for? She’s becoming someone who needs more than that.

Angel: Should we tell her?

God: No. She’s figuring it out on her own. Every time she prays, she’s getting closer to what she actually wants. What she actually needs. The clarity is coming. The new prayers are forming. She’s about to start asking me for things that match who she’s becoming, not who she used to be.

Angel: So what happens to the old prayers?

God: I’ll bless her with what she actually needs now. Not what she thought she needed then. And one day she’ll thank me for not answering the prayers she outgrew before they had a chance to limit her.

Jacqueline Whitney is the author Held: A 50 Day Devotional For Parents and All That You Deserve.