Land of Confusion

I don't understand prayer.  In the Bible, there is such an emphasis on God doing specific things that people have asked Him for in prayer.  Hannah became pregnant with Samuel.  When Elijah prayed, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice and the altar it was placed on.  An iron axe head floated to the surface of a river.  Samson was granted strength to destroy the Philistine temple.  All of these things and many many more, God did in response to the prayers of His people.  There are very few biblical examples of a person praying and God not acting in the manner that was asked of Him.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:8-9

So, what was the problem?  It certainly wasn't a lack of faith; once when Paul prayed, a person was raised from the dead.

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.  “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Mark 14:35-36

Here is an even more extreme example; Jesus himself prayed that he would not have to face the cross and did not have his prayer granted.

Where does this leave us?  If God cannot be counted on to grant us the things we ask for, why do we serve Him?

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Matthew 16:23

Unfortunately, much of what we pray for falls under the category of “human concerns”.  When God chooses where does not choose to grant a request, we can be certain that His action serves His greater design.  This world is a temporary home.

LORD, what are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them?  They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.
Psalm 144:3-4

This life, this world is nothing but a time of preparation for the existence we are meant to have.  This life does indeed have its beautiful moments, but every wonderful thing we see is but a shadow of the beauty we will see when we see Him face to face and all the worries and cares and questions that we have will melt away.  Lord, please let me always be faithful to Your purpose for me.