But I Prayed For This

Melissa Miller explores how you can care for your soul, let go of guilt, and give yourself grace when your answered prayers bring changes you didn't expect and feelings you can't ignore.

The spouse you prayed for is here, but you feel a sadness you can't explain. The job you prayed for came through, but you are overworked and overwhelmed. The ministry you prayed for is up and running, but you question if this is your calling after all. You wonder, Isn't an answer to prayer supposed to feel better than this?

Melissa Miller knows the feeling. She prayed for a job opportunity across the country and to grow her family through adoption, but she didn't expect to wake up every morning wondering if God picked the right person. She was tempted to push down her struggles because, after all, wasn't this what she prayed for? Would others think she was ungrateful? Instead, she dove deep into Scripture, cognitive research, and therapy to learn how to keep showing up in a story that was very different from what she'd imagined. In But I Prayed for This, Melissa helps you face the hard parts of "good" transitions as you

• recognize that mixed emotions are normal (and not forever),
• grow in gratitude by changing the way you think,
• let go of the lie that you are stuck or that you "prayed wrong," and
• allow Jesus to shape your story and your heart in new ways.

But I Prayed for This offers tools to care for your mental and spiritual health, permission to feel what you feel, and reassurance that God's love is big enough for both your gratitude and your grief as you walk forward in the strength that comes from hope.