Does God really leave prayers unanswered? In my humble opinion, I just don’t think so. I happen to believe that God never ignores the prayers of believers. But, sometimes we certainly FEEL like our prayers have been left unanswered when truthfully the answer was “NO”. Or perhaps the answer was “WAIT”. Or maybe God answered the real cry of our heart, not by giving us the solution we thought would make it all better, but by guiding us to a new and different path. God is going to answer your prayers, but the tricky part is being ready, accepting, and open to whatever answer you receive.
Day 6 of “Abba, Father”, a devotional from By the Well 4 God, had us looking at reasons why we may be getting a delayed response or feel like God is not answering our prayers. There were SO MANY scriptures listed, but I chose to journal on Isaiah 55:8.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.” –Isaiah 55:8
You can check out the process video for this page on my YouTube channel:
I began the page by laying down some Distress Oxide Ink with a blender tool. I chose 3 colors and put them in a block formation in the very large margin of this page. My hope was that I’d be able to move the ink around and blend it a bit more after I laid it down. However, for some reason, it wasn’t moving easily on the page, even with the addition of the water. So, I decided to add additional texture and interest by using a stencil to add a tone-on-tone layer of more Distress Oxide ink. The result was very cool, and something I will definitely be repeating again in the near future. The “Peacock Feather” blue was popping off a little to much for my liking, so I used Dylusions White Paint through a semi-circle stencil to add another layer and to tone down the bright color.
The main element that I knew I wanted on this page was a very large “NO”. Sometimes the “NO” feels big and heavy, but when it comes from God, we have to look at it as an act of love. I chose two large chipboard letters and added a bit of Distress Oxide ink to distress the edges of the letters. After adhering the letters to the page, I used a Distress Oxide marker to add some shadowing to make the letters stand out even more.
The rest of the page came together very quickly. I chose die-cut elements from the kit and added Distress Oxide ink in Spun Sugar so that the white in the ephemera pieces was not quite as stark against the colored background. I also chose a complimentary washi tape from my stash to place near the ephemera pieces to give them an anchor. Additionally, that washi tape was added to the top of the page to bring the tab into the rest of the layout. I used alpha tile stickers that coordinate with the kit to finish out my title, added some journaling and the date, then called the page done!
It is certainly difficult to face a “NO” especially from God. But my prayer is that in those times, I will always answer with an “Amen” or “So be it”, keeping in mind that God is good and knows what path is best.
What is your reaction when facing a “No” or a “Wait”? What do you do when you don’t get the answer you were praying for?
Keep it creative,
-The Scrappy Wife
Supplies Used:
- Illustrating Bible
- “Abba, Father” from BTW4G
- Alpha Tile Stickers from BTW4G
- Distress Oxide Ink – Spun Sugar, Peacock Feathers, & Fossilized Amber
- Ranger Ink Blending Tool
- Dylusions White Paint