Something churchy I’ve picked up over the years is that God answers prayer in three ways… that He either says “yes”, “no” or “wait”. I see an incompleteness in this idea… it is so very tidy –and it defines prayer as asking God FOR stuff. Maybe His answers are as diverse as the types of conversations we have with Him and certainly as diverse as those with any OTHER friend. I mean, regular friends often just hang out together and listen to each other and He is certainly not less than that.
Relationships are NOT tidy. They are messy. They involve loving and hurting and finding where you click and what each other likes and hates – often the hard way. Surely prayer, as part of relationship, is like this too.
“Yes” “no” “maybe” is all about self – ME getting MY answer. It’s not factoring the personality of The Other at all.