When God says no...

 

One of the more vexing questions that people of faith wrestle with is this: why didn’t God answer my prayer. I believe this is the wrong question. As a person of faith, that is, someone who has a good relationship with Jesus, God the father always hears and answers our prayers.

Jesus illustrates this perfectly in Matthew 7: 7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

9Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! [Also see Luke 11:5–13 for parallel account.]

In any good relationship the answer to every question falls into 3 categories: Yes [this is often the one we like the most and call an “answered” prayer], No [this one we often don’t like and don’t see as an answer at all, but is one we need at that time-much more on this later] or Wait [this one requires patience and trust that we either don’t have or don’t want to give].

TEASER ALERT: There is now a fourth answer that I’m encountering often which I’ll write about later [or sooner if you request it ;]

Every good parent knows this is true. Every kid asks for things. Can I have this or that right now? No parent gives everything a kid wants when they want it. Can I have ice cream instead of brushing my teeth? I know I’m only 9 but can I drive the car? A good parent would say no or wait. God is like this, but 1000 times more wise. In fact, His wisdom transcends time. This is a huge factor in why He answers the way He does.

This is a problem for us. We are stuck in time, at least for now. If what we ask for is not good-God will say no. If what we ask for is good but it’s at a bad time God will say no or more likely wait. This can cause us much pain and frustration. We know, we know what we want-that’s easy. We think we know what we need and often get it wrong.

Trusting God is the main issue. Do I believe He will give me what I need when I need it or not? Or do I need to take matters into my own hands? The old and incorrect adage “God helps those who help themselves” is not in your Bible. What is, is this “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:5

I read this at “gotquestions.org” and thought it was great:

"God helps those who help themselves" is probably the most often quoted phrase that is not found in the Bible. This saying is usually attributed to Ben Franklin, quoted in Poor Richard’s Almanac in 1757. In actuality, it originated from Algernon Sydney in 1698 in an article titled Discourses Concerning Government.

Whatever the original source of this saying, the Bible teaches the opposite. God helps the helpless! Isaiah 25:4 declares, "For You have been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat..." Romans 5:6 tells us, "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly."

In terms of salvation, we are all utterly helpless. We are all infected by sin (Romans 3:23), and condemned as a result of that sin (Romans 6:23). Nothing we can do on our own can remedy this situation (Isaiah 64:6). Thankfully, God is the helper of the helpless. While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us (Romans 5:8). Jesus paid the penalty that we were incapable of paying (2 Corinthians 5:21). God provided the "help" that we need precisely because we could not help ourselves.”

That is at the root of our issue of dealing with the no from God. Will we then say “Fine-if he won’t give it to me-I’ll just get it myself!” I love the C.S. Lewis quote we read in my connection class the other Sunday:

“There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.

Watch out. This is not the path you want to be on. But I get that the path of waiting is also no picnic-but it’s better than the pit you fall into when you decide to “get what I want when I want it” trust me. No, better yet, trust God.

We’ll dig into the next question a little later which is: OK I’m being denied something good-why is that? Sorry to say it but for now you’ll need to wait… but don’t worry the answer will come!