I have to remind myself regularly that God doesn’t do things just because we think they are the best thing that could happen. Perhaps part of his plan involves pain, hardship, or difficulty in the life of another person. Perhaps the resolution to the situation will take a lot longer than I want it to. Perhaps, God’s solution is something I would never think to ask for.
This is why it’s important to enter prayer with an attitude of humility. Jesus’ famous prayer, often called the Lord’s Prayer, starts off by honoring God and asking for HIS will to be done. It ends by saying the kingdom, power, and glory all belong to God. When we start with that perspective, it affects the types of requests we make. I believe God still wants us to pour out our hearts by expressing our concerns and even our desired outcomes, but it must be preceded and followed by reminders to ourselves that we are asking for God’s will and His purposes to be accomplished above and beyond what we want or even what we can understand. When we do this, we can have peace that the Creator and Sustainer of all the universe is in control of whatever circumstance has led us to prayer.