remember how on birthdays we always go, "God, may you grow me in ___________ this coming year." and oh how we lament and whine when He answers our very prayers, as though to say, "God, what now? why me?".

"Sometimes God interprets our prayers in strange ways.
Sometimes you pray for something and God gives it to you, but the package doesn’t look like what you prayed for.

You prayed for humility. You got demoted.
You prayed for contentment in Christ. You stayed single longer than you wanted.
You prayed for the ability to love unconditionally. You married someone who was imperfect that made it possible.
You prayed for God to be enough. You were put in a bleak circumstance where He had to be.
You prayed for increased faith. You found yourself in a situation that required it.
You prayed for patience. You got people you find hard to love.

This might tempt you to not pray for these things at all. But that would be your loss. Not your gain. I love 2 Peter 1:8. Peter tells us that if we possess qualities like those above, “they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The package might not look like you thought it would. But it’s going to help you become the person you should.

Our best prayers are often the ones that the Holy Spirit interprets, filters, and presents to God in such a way that it gives us exactly what we need even if it’s not exactly what we want (Romans 8:27). Or gives us what we want in a way that we don’t want or couldn’t have imagined.

God’s packaging is precise. He’s been at the business of answering prayers for a long time and He knows what He’s doing.
Keep praying and trust that what you get is exactly what you need and asked for. Even if you didn’t know it at the time."

Blogged from Pastor Steven Furtick.

God's will doesn't have to be perfect to you to be perfect for you.(Jeremiah 29:11)