Have you ever prayed so hard that you were sure, based only on your spiritual fervor and sincerity, that God would grant you your deepest desires? And then days go by. Weeks go by. Even years go by and … nothing. Did it feel like betrayal? Did you get angry with him because your prayers weren’t answered? Did you even lose faith because of it?
What does it mean when God says “No”? Did you grow up thinking that God always says “Yes” as long as…. you were good, you didn’t hit your little sister/brother, you faithfully said your prayers every night and went to Sunday School every week? This is the kids’ version. As an adult, do you think God will always grant you your requests as long as you are faithful to him? You read the Bible every day… you go to church every Sunday… you give to charity and help others often? So why didn’t I get what I prayed for? Why didn’t things work out for me? Why didn’t I get that career changing position, that promotion, the dream house?
Our sermon last week was on this very subject. The Pastor spoke of three possible reasons why God turns us down, even when our prayers were sincere and full of hope and faith. The first one is: 1.It is not the right time. What do I mean by that? Perhaps you are not ready for that career change, that promotion, etc. We hold onto our dreams with such a firm grip that it becomes a part of us. It’s all encompassing, our new god, if you will. This is all we want! This is all we need! Please God!
What we often forget is that God is not controlled by time. Time doesn’t exist for him. No days or nights, no months or years. Time is man made. His schedule does not sync with ours. What seems like an eternity to us may only be the equivalent of a day for him. He is not restricted by our time table. So what happens? You wait for what you believe is long enough and eventually give up. I guess it wasn’t meant to be, you decide in a defeated state of mind. Time to move on. And then, years later, by some miracle (but it really wasn’t) your prayer is answered! You got what you prayed for. But now you are different. You have matured physically, mentally and spiritually. You are ready for that promotion, that career change, whatever it was. God’s timing is always perfect. Every single time.
The second reason: 2. There’s a better path. We often think that only we know what is best for us. Well maybe God knows better. Of course he does! He knows what you need in order to be the best version of yourself. He created you after all! Think about it, have you ever in hindsight actually thanked God for NOT answering your prayer? You ended up with something/someone so much better in the long run. You got a job that was much more meaningful and fulfilling. Thank you God! Can you pinpoint a time when God said “No” to your prayer and you were later actually relieved? I’m sure you can.
The third reason: 3. To make us more like Jesus. What does that mean? I believe it means that he wants us to be more humble, more loving, more generous with our time, talent and treasure. He wants us to love one another and put others first. Honorable goals to strive for. Maybe what we wanted for ourselves would put us at odds with that. We wouldn’t be anywhere near the kind of person Christ was. Maybe God wants us to be.
God teaches us through disappointment. His “No” could be preparing us for a better “Yes”.
I’ll end with a wonderful quote from Timothy Keller, God always gives you what you would have asked for if you knew everything that he knows. Ponder that. God bless.