When God’s Answer Doesn’t Look Like Your Request
A broken soap dispenser and soapy hands. Not exactly where you’d expect a spiritual lesson, but that’s exactly what happened.
In this episode of So Chi, Chidi walks through a simple household moment that becomes an unexpected classroom. When a soap dispenser breaks mid-refill, and she asks God what to do, what follows is a layered conversation about surrender, brokenness, and why God sometimes answers prayers in ways that don’t resemble the request at all.
The episode unpacks three distinct lessons. First, nothing is too small to bring to God. Not even a messy sink. The disciples were professional fishermen and still needed Jesus in the storm. Our default is self-sufficiency, but asking first changes the posture entirely. Second, broken doesn’t mean unusable. When another piece fell off the dispenser, Chidi could see inside the bottle clearly for the first time. Still holding some soap. Still useful. That image became a mirror: we disqualify ourselves from usefulness the moment we see our own cracks, but God sees something different entirely.
The third lesson hits the hardest. God knows about the fractures we can’t see in ourselves. And sometimes the reason our prayers aren’t answered the way we asked isn’t rejection but protection. He won’t pour into us more than we can currently hold. Not because He’s withholding, but because He’s preparing us to contain it.
“When your cup isn’t running over, it may simply mean He’s strengthening what holds it.”
If you’ve ever wondered why God seems to be answering a different prayer than the one you asked, this episode is worth a listen.
About So Chi
So Chi is a podcast segment within GFG where Chidi reflects on faith, life, and the spaces in between — starting with ordinary moments and arriving at spiritual insight through honest wrestling. New episodes every other week. Follow along at @_gfg_u.
Meet Chidi:
Chidi Nwadike is the chapter coordinator for AYP San Francisco. She is an Execution Strategist and the founder of GA Solutions, a strategy and operations consultancy helping startups, creatives, and visionaries move from idea to execution. She is also the creator of So Chi, a reflective faith podcast where ordinary life moments become the starting point for honest conversations about God, growth, and the in-between.
Chidi is passionate about building spaces where faith feels real, questions are welcome, and growth is visible. So Chi is one of those spaces.
Leave a Response