I never really knew what it meant for a prayer 'to be answered.' I think in my childhood mind I heard this and envisioned whatever it was the person was praying for to somehow just magically appear. Some people had to pray a lot longer than others to have their prayers answered. And still others never would.
To me, it seemed similar to the lottery. You buy your ticket(s) - say your prayer(s) - and hope that you'll be the winner. And if you 'won' - if your prayer was answered it would be in a big, profound, obvious(ly visible) way.
Yeah, that's never happened to me. So it's no wonder I didn't think any of my prayers were answered. Or, more importantly, I just thought prayers being answered was akin to the luck of the draw.
This is before I found coaching.
My mind up to this point had been trained to only register 'big' things, blindly overlooking the rest.
I recall my older sister once responding to my questioning of what might be my blind-spots (in life). She said I often overlooked opportunities right in front of me. Fast forward five years later, I can clearly see that these opportunities that I overlooked right in front of me weren't 'big' enough to be picked up on my radar at the time.
It is overtime, with life and experience, that our radar and perspective changes. It is with coaching that this happens much quicker and by our choosing, rather than leaving it up to chance or fate.
So how does this relate to answered prayers? Because 'to see' is a choice. And I'm not literally talking about the cones and rods and light dynamics of eyes that make vision possible.
I'm talking about one's ability, or rather willingness, to perceive and be aware.
When I started learning about coaching and then working with my own coach, I greatly increased my awareness - across the board. Awareness of my thoughts, feelings, perspectives, beliefs, judgements.
It was with this heightened observation that I was able to understand information that, as a child, wasn't able to hit as it was intended.
You ever have the experience where someone's trying to teach you something and you're just not getting it? Then a different person comes around and teaches the exact same information, but from a slightly different angle and it all makes sense?
It's like that.
Coaching allowed me to expand my range of comprehension so things I didn't fully understand were now taking on a whole new meaning and providing substantial clarity along the way.
I was making the choice 'to see.' I was willing 'to see.' And as a result, I began 'to see' the world around me in subtle, but different ways.
An idea I've always championed is that every experience is a learning opportunity. It provides skills and information needed to navigate forward on your unique life path.
Curious, that this strongly held belief had no association with answered prayers; at least until I was 32 years old (and almost 33 - my Jesus yr!).
Prayers are, by and large, offered up subtly; and so too, are the answers to these prayers. It takes a willing ear and open mind to fully see them. It might also require a different vocabulary, as answered prayers have many synonyms including insight, intuition, divine guidance - and heck, even coincidence!
Contrary to what childhood Sarah would have you believe, answered prayers don't instantly solve your problems or take them away. They don't grant all your wishes or magically make your dreams come true. But they do give you the confirmation, tools & resources needed to overcome every hurdle & obstacle you come across and help you climb every ladder & mountain to the dreams of your heart.
