Many times over the years God has surprised me. Often I have found myself in dilemmas that no matter how hard I tried I could not find a solution. I was backed into a corner with nowhere else to go. Then out of the blue, or so it seemed, an answer came to me that was the perfect way to solve the situation. I know it didn’t come from me – it was clearly God’s answer to my prayers. But not the answer I expected.

Our scripture readings this weekend just confirms for us that God very often answers prayers in ways that we never expected. In that first reading, the Jewish people have been in captivity in Babylon and they have been suffering for a long time. The responsorial psalm today echoes that suffering “By the streams of Babylon we sat a wept; How could we ever forget you O Zion”. Then Out of the blue, King Cyrus, the new Persian king, offers them freedom and the opportunity to return to their homeland and to rebuild the Temple. Never did they think that a non-Jewish king would grant them their freedom. God answered their prayers but in a surprising way.

In the Gospel reading, we hear that familiar sentence that tells us God sent His only Son as the savior. Again the Jewish people expected a Savior but not in the form of God’s only begotten Son. He came as a babe into the world and was a king who conquered not by warfare but by crucifixion and resurrection. Another surprising answer to prayer.

When we do pray it is natural for us to bring our pre-conceived solutions to God and then expect Him to answer in that way. But what we learn from the scriptures is that we need to be alert as to the way God chooses to answer us.

Renewing us and calling us back to Himself during this Lenten Season can take many different forms – different than what we may expect. Those of us who like to control God’s answers are in for the greatest surprises of all!

During this season let’s make a special effort to let God be God and trust that He will show us the way!