C.S. Lewis: There is no question whether an event has happened because of your prayers.

The Christian is not to ask whether this or that event happened because of a prayer. He is rather to believe that all events without exception are answers to prayer in the sense that whether they are grantings or refusals the prayers of all concerned and their needs have all be taken into account. All prayers are heard, thought not all prayers are granted. We must not picture destiny as a film unrolling for the most part on its own, but in which our prayers are sometimes allowed to insert additional items. On the contrary; what the film displays to us as it unrolls already contains the results of our prayers and of all our other acts. There is no question whether an event has happened because of your prayers. When the event you prayed for occurs your prayer has always contributed to it. When the opposite event occurs your prayer has never been ignored; it has been considered and refused, for your ultimate good and the good of the whole universe.

— C.S. Lewis

Cited from “On ‘Special Providences,’” in Miracles (New York: HarperOne,1947, 1974), 293-294.

It is often said that God answers prayers as either “Yes,” “No” or “Wait.” This is profoundly true. What we often dread is the “No.” But Lewis makes a very wise observation in that the “No” is from God’s perspective good for the petitioner and the world itself. Some answers to prayers can have unintended negative consequences.

Clive Staples Lewis (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963) was an exceptional scholar, novelist, and Christian apologist from the Anglican tradition. Chronicles of Narnia serves as a fine example of Lewis as a prolific storyteller who captivated the imaginations of multitudes.

A learned scholar with expertise in medieval and Renaissance literature, Lewis also authored numerous fiction and non-fiction works that touched on matters of philosophy and Christian apologetics.