Many people are receiving the answers to their prayers and becoming angry because they don’t like the packaging the answer is wrapped in – it doesn’t look like what they were expecting, they don’t find its appearance appealing, or they get frustrated because they don’t know how to open it to see what’s inside. As a result, they discard the entire package, never realizing, or receiving the benefits from what was inside. These people are left asking, “Where’s the answer to my prayer?” while God is saying, “I gave it to you. You threw it away.”

I see this happening right now in America concerning Kanye West and even President Donald Trump. A large majority of Christians have been praying for God to move in the area of arts and entertainment, and within the government. Petitions have been made to God for Him to rise up and set in place a President who would stand for Israel and the Christian community, and who would do what it takes to set this nation back on the right track. Prayers have been prayed for people in these influential areas to “get saved” and reach the masses. It’s now happening, but folks are offended by the package their answers have come in – an outspoken billionaire with a past, and a black rapper who once thought of himself as God before recently encountering Jesus and receiving salvation. The package may have gotten banged up along the way here, but that doesn’t make what’s inside any less valuable.

God’s ways are higher than our ways, and He does things in such a way that it confounds the wise (Isaiah 55:8-9; 1 Corinthians 1:27). Jesus didn’t come in a package everyone was expecting either and it offended the Jew’s way of thinking. He didn’t come all decked out in His royal garb preceded by royal fanfare. Jesus emptied Himself and took on the form of a servant, created in human likeness (Philippians 2:7), and rode in on a donkey. Jesus was and is the answer to every prayer and instead of the Jews accepting Him and receiving all that He had to give, they crucified Him! In a sense, they threw away the very package that held their answer.  

Have you recently discarded your answer to prayer? If so, it’s time to humble yourself, dig your package back out of the trash and re-examine it. It’s okay to admit you threw it away prematurely. There is a reason your answer came in the package it did. Examine the package. It has something to do with your story; it’s all part of the bigger picture. Ask the Lord, “Why did you choose this wrapping paper? Why did you choose to deliver my answer in this particular way?” Listen and see what He says. You may be surprised at His answer and left speechless once you realize how it all fits together in His divine plan, and how it’s intertwined within the love story He’s written for and about you.