I grimace at the deep gash above the young woman’s eye. It stands out angry in dark shades of green and purple against pale skin and her mother chokes on emotion as she pulls back the curtain on her soul. “I know He could make things right for her, but He doesn’t. I keep praying and hoping. Maybe I’m praying the wrong thing. I can’t afford to be bitter toward God.”
I hear the questions buried in her words and pull them forward, examining from every angle.  Doesn’t He hear me? Why do my pleadings go unanswered when others’ receive the gift of God’s grace?  And I understand. I’ve often shared these same thoughts.
One family rejoices at the renewed opportunity their depressed teenager has at living fully after a dance with death and proclaims, “God answered our prayers” while another weeps by the mound of fresh earth–uncertain how to experience joy again now that a child gone too soon lies six feet below in the dark and their hearts barely seem able to propel them ahead.
Did you disregard those dear ones? Is any one person more spiritually worthy than another? Are words of desperation only considered worthy of your throne when uttered by spiritual giants or the most penitent of saints?
Not at all, dear friends.
Christ came as the Lamb that He might return one day soon as the conquering King. On the day of His arrival–every vestige of pain, each remembrance of suffering, and all cries for justice will find their answer in the nail scarred hands and the power of One who could not be restrained by any of it.
And He’ll gather us close and these times will somehow make sense in the eternal landscape of His love and we’ll drink deeply of unmatched joy in His presence. Our prayers–once offered as a holy sacrifice–will find their answer in the restoration of life whole and eternal.
You are not left alone. You are not abandoned. Your prayers will not remain unanswered.  He is the unchanging One who eradicated death by His own and invited us into Life. Jesus has not brought us this far to leave us without hope, dear daughters of Christ.
Take the next step. Keep praying. Trust Him. He is walking with you to the end.