The Heart God Shapes Through Prayer

Inside: We don’t always get what we ask for in prayer—but in His grace, God gives us something better. This moving letter reminds us how He shapes our hearts through unexpected answers.

Sometimes the answers to our prayers don’t come the way we imagined. This letter, attributed to a Civil War soldier, captures the kind of heart transformation that only God can bring. It reminds us that the Lord is always at work—shaping us, sanctifying us, and giving us more of Himself—even when His answers seem unexpected.

A Letter attributed to a Civil War Soldier expresses God’s prayer priorities and the ultimate desires of the heart-shaped by the Holy Spirit:

“I asked God for strength, that I might achieve. I was made weak, that I might humbly learn to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy. I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life. I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything that I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I among all men am most richly blessed.”

Excerpt taken from – Praying Backwards: Transform Your Prayer Life By Beginning In Jesus’ Name by Bryan Chapell

This prayer invites us to reflect on the kind of blessings God delights to give—ones that draw us into deeper dependence on Him. As J.C. Ryle wisely said:

“Be sure no time is so well spent as that which a man spends on his knees.”

May we be those who trust the Father’s heart, even when His answers don’t come in the ways we expect.