15 And now the Lord was slow to hear their cry because of their iniquities; nevertheless the Lord did hear their cries, and began to soften the hearts of the Lamanites that they began to ease their burdens; yet the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage.
Sometimes the Lord doesn’t give us what we are requesting immediately. The people of Limhi had failed to repent when they were warned, and now they were suffering the consequences of their poor decisions. The Lord had told them this would happen, and He had even warned them that He would be “slow to hear their cries” if they waited to repent until they were in captivity (Mosiah 11:24).
But even though the Lord did not answer their specific request immediately, He did begin to bless them immediately. He did not deliver them from captivity, but he did begin to soften the hearts of their captors, and their burdens began to be lighter.
There may be various reasons why we do not receive the specific blessing we are asking for right away, but if we are paying attention, we will recognize other blessings. Our Heavenly Father loves us and wants to bless us.
Today, I will watch for the unexpected answers to my prayers: the blessings I receive, not because I asked for them, but because Heavenly Father knows that they are appropriate to my current situation. I will remember that the Lord answers our prayers in various ways. He may remove our afflictions, He may lighten our burdens, or He may simply strengthen us to be able to bear them. (See Mosiah 24:14-15.)