19 God is not human, that he should lie,
    not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
    Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19 ESV)

God may not always answer our prayers the way we ask them. However, I firmly believe He answers every single prayer in a way that is best for us. Understanding even “No” is a valid answer.

Our problem is that we have convinced ourselves that God is some genie in a bottle. Which, most assuredly, He is not.

When we go into our prayers we need to go in with an open mind and be ready for however God devises to work in our lives. Even a “No” answer can be meaningful and beneficial to us. We lack the insight necessary to really judge if the outcome of a given prayer will work to our best interest. This is why God sometimes answered us in different ways than we expect. He is always working in our best interest.

However, never think that He does not act. And never think that His prayers will not fulfill His scriptural promises. He always will.