Would it surprise you if I said that God has answered every prayer I have ever prayed since I surrendered my heart to Him in 1971? I was a 17-year-old teen, brand new to faith, but enthusiastic to begin this new and exciting walk. I was being mentored by a group of teenage men who took an interest in my newfound faith. They taught me about my heavenly Father who sent His Son for my salvation, my healing, and the One who would hear and answer my prayers. 

It seemed in those early days I saw immediate answers to my prayers. It was as if God was building faith in this young heart for an exciting future. It felt like all I had to do was pull the request lever and from heaven out came the answer. 

Gradually the speed of those answers began to change because the requests became bigger and bolder. Was God holding out? Was He being slow to answer on purpose? 

And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? (Luke 18:7,8)

He was still answering, but not in my time. The answers were and would come in His time. Fifty-five years have passed since I first came to know Him, trusted Him, and made Him Lord of my life. I can truthfully and confidently claim that He has answered every one of my prayers. 

So many of those answered prayers have been “yes, wait, maybe, or no,” but all are answered. All my petitions have been heard and recorded. Each one categorized, filed, and acted upon. In my maturation process I have learned that the best timing for answered prayer is His timing, not mine. I have learned that every request is already provided for. I have discovered that He desires those answers even more than I do. 

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24)