Answered Prayers?

An observation I have made of late, is that whenever we perceive something as good we say things like "God DOES answer prayers" or if it's a sickness that is no longer present, "God HEALED me, because I prayed". Something about that disturbs me a little bit. Now before I make a bunch of people mad at me, yes, I DO believe God answers prayers...but I think we jump the gun a bit in saying that just because we perceive something GOOD occurring, he has answered our prayer. Sometimes God answers our prayer by saying NO...because ultimately he knows that what we have asked for could hurt us. This "hurt" could be in the form of a lesson not learned, or a journey not able to be taken because the answer was quick & easy. I know this may be as clear as mud, so I will explain.
Recently, I have had several friends and acquaintances who have been diagnosed with one terminal/disabling disease or another. They are ALL suffering. They are ALL in pain...and they ALL belong to Him. Let's say that one friend finds out that their illness is in remission OR it has disappeared completely...should we shout from the rooftops, "God heard us" or "God is GOOD"...hmmm...I don't believe so. God is good, no matter WHAT. He is good if the illness is present..He is good if it's NOT. He IS GOOD. Regardless of how we feel, think or believe. God doesn't act like a tornado..jumping over one victim to get to another...if He heals, there is a reason behind it..likewise, if he chooses NOT to provide healing, there is a reason. I believe that the reasons are different for every person...because not all of our walks are the same. The same goes for God heard us proclamation...God hears us even IF his answer is NO. He hears us all the time. He hears us when we turn our backs on him and he hears us when we feign worship on Sunday morning... he also hears us when we quietly ask him for forgiveness. He is listening all the time.
I believe, that when God does provide healing, in a situation like I described, we shouldn't say things like I have heard, but instead shout "Praise God", "You are good", and a simple "thank you Lord." HOWEVER, I also believe that if he doesn't provide healing, we should still shout, "Praise God, You are Good and Thank you Lord." The sickness is not a reflection of our spiritual cleanliness. We do not get sick because God sees us do bad stuff so he throws down a cancer on our heads. No. We get sick because sin is in the world. Unfortunately, it is part of life.
I have a friend whose child is battling. Battling an illness that is starting to take a visible toll on her sweet baby girl. This mom prays daily, probably hourly, if truth be told, for her daughter. I have another friend whose daughter was ill. VERY ill and watched as this sweet little girl, became one of God's angels. The amazing thing to me is that both of these mom's are what I would call "Holy Momma's". They both believe in Christ, follow Him in their lives and serve Him every day. One little girl has survived, one has passed on. Was one Momma more holy than the other? In another town, there are two men. BOTH have cancer. BOTH have daughters. ONE goes in remission while the other holds onto life by a thread and is constantly in and out of hospitals. Is one in remission because he is "spiritually stronger?" Though I do not KNOW the condition of their spirit...I still feel confident enough to say NO. I do not know the reason God has chosen to allow healing in one situation and hasn't in another, but I DO believe that regardless of if we are "healed" in the way we see it, we should STILL Praise Him. Because he is God, He is good and he does love us and want to be near us. He is our Abba (our daddy) and he wants to wrap his arms around us...He is just waiting for us to call his name and say Daddy, I need a good old bear hug...I KNOW and I speak from experience on this one, he will come running...and he will wrap his Holy Spirit arms around me and show me how much he loves me. Just like when we raise our kids..we can't keep every skinned knee from happening, but we sure can be there with the band aid and a good dose of Momma Love to help dry the tears!
So, I challenge you...whenever you hear of someone who is sick and has been "healed" instead of shouting, God answers prayers...why not just say Thank you....Thank you Lord and truly believe it.