Every week in our Sunday School class, we start out with prayer requests. Thankfully, I don’t usually have anything to ask the class to pray for, but two weeks ago, something major came up.

A friend of my mom’s had gone to the ER a few days earlier after having some chest pain, and they immediately admitted her. They ruled out a heart attack, but ran a number of tests and eventually found multiple “spots” on her liver. The doctor seemed concerned and let her know that it might be nothing serious, but told her to prepare herself. You see, she hadn’t seen a doctor in years and her father had just passed away from liver cancer in May.

He rush-ordered her test results and told her that he wanted to talk to her directly when they came in. Waiting the rest of the week was hard on her, so our class prayed for peace of mind and good results.

When Monday afternoon finally rolled around, I called my mom to get the news.

“Benign”, she said. Neither of us could believe it. It was such great news, but it seems so rare nowadays to get news like that. There’s no way to say for sure if God used our prayers to protect her, but either way, it was really encouraging.

It seems like many of our prayers often go unanswered, but those are the ones that provide us with important life lessons that make us stronger. God has bigger plans for us than what we are always able to see, though, and that’s one of the most comforting promises that He makes to us.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” -Jeremiah 29:11

Have you ever seen God’s work in your life when He doesn’t respond? Has prayer made a noticeable impact in your life?