Praying - a head on collision of the will of God and the will of man?

Well is it? Sometimes, forgive my pessimism, that is just how it feels. We sit in circles and ask God to so 'Something Amazing'...but what if God's amazing doesn't seem so amazing to us? We thank God that he's answered our prayers when we get what we've asked, but how often do we genuinely thank God for answers that are unseen, or worse, unwanted?

For a while now I have been struggling with corporate prayer, and was forced to face up to this in a Family meeting recently where we were asked as a family how we could do better, and what were the underlying issues preventing us from praying together more. I realised that a growing unease and resentment has been growing in my attitude to prayer as I see it as a place where Christians can be very glib and exceptionally self-serving, and not least myself. I come to God and ask him for lots of things and thank him for visible successes of the gospel in the lives of those around me. But there's no obvious recognition that God is at work even in adversity, that sometimes he hears, but doesn't respond as we have asked or indeed in a way we can particularly identify at all. Shouldn't we be expressing gratitude to God in all things?
My pastor helpfully clarified that, yes we should be thankful in all things, but that doesn't mean for all things e.g we shouldn't be thankful that a relative has died, as God doesn't want people to die and it isn't part of how he intended his creation to be. And so, it's ok that I should instinctively find it impossible to be truly thankful for such horrible and painful things. But we should be thankful in all things - because God does work all things out for the good of those who fear him, and Jesus has definitely still died and been raised to new life despite what troubles come my way.

So can we recognise God more? What about a whole evening dedicated to just recognising what we've prayed to God and how he's answered us? How about pinning down the answers we feel we have and haven't had, and rather than shying away from the bad, confessing God is sovereign over these things and will work out good from them in ways we may never understand? Surely we'd be keener to pray if we pointed out to each other, reminded each other, that God does hear our prayers and explored with each other the ways we can see that in our own lives and communities.

We'll be having a day of prayer and fasting in September - and my prayer now and then will be that we will be more God centred in our prayers, genuinely seeking his will and his glory and recognising our sovereign God as Lord of all, even the hard and the unseen things in our lives...

Rejoice Always,
Rachel