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When God Says No
I heard a story recently about a young girl who wrote a letter to
a missionary to let him know that her class had been praying for
him. But evidently she'd been told not to request a response to her
letter because the missionaries were very busy. So the missionary
got a kick out of her letter. It said, "Dear Mr. Missionary, we are
praying for you. But we are not expecting an answer."
I can't help but think that that little girl summarized the prayer
lives of many Christians. Sometimes we pray without expecting an
answer, even though God has assured us that He does indeed hear our
prayers. David said, "I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice
and my supplications." (Psalm 116:1). But I think many of us
struggle with the nagging question, "Is God really listening to me?"
Yes, He heard David, He heard Elijah, and He heard the apostles. But
does He hear me?
How do we really know that our prayers are answered? Sure, there are
times when we see visible results. We may pray for someone who's
sick and the next week they get well. But more often, our prayers
don't produce flashing "neon" answers. We pray for help in financial
problems, and we don't see things get any better. We pray for
guidance in making right decisions, but the decisions don't get any
easier. We pray for relationships with other people to improve, but
they just seem to get worse. How do we as Christians account for
that happening? How do we explain the fact that so many of our
prayers seem to go "unanswered"?
The truth is, for a child of God there is no such thing as an
unanswered prayer. Maybe you've heard it said before that God
answers prayer in three ways. Sometimes the answer is "yes."
Sometimes the answer is "no." And sometimes the answer is "wait a
while." It's easy to accept an answer of "yes," but what about when
God says, "no"?
Let me suggest three principles:
First of all, we need to trust God enough to realize that our
all-loving, all-powerful Father loves us and has our best interest
at heart.
So when it seems that God says "no" to our prayers, we must trust
Him enough to understand that there must be a good reason for it. It
may be beyond our limited ability to understand, but we must simply
trust God.
Secondly, we must not forsake God. Disappointment is a dangerous,
powerful thing. When we get the feeling that God isn't listening to
us, that He has said "no" to some prayer, we have a tendency to feel
disappointed in Him. And Satan whispers to us, "God said He loves
you, but He's not here." And if we allow that disappointment to
harbor in our hearts, it can drive a wedge between us and God. We
must continue to be faithful to our responsibility before God.
And thirdly, we need to realize that the answer may not be "no," but
only "wait a while." God always answers our prayers immediately, but
sometimes there's a delay in the giving of the answer and that can
be a difficult thing for us to accept. The ability to wait for an
answer is one of the marks of maturity. Be willing to let God answer
in his own time, in his own way, and in his own power.
Many people see God as a divine vending machine in which you deposit
one prayer and out pops a blessing. But what happens when you put
your money in the Coke machine and nothing comes out? You get angry,
you kick the Coke machine. So it's not surprising that such a view
of God and prayer leads to disappointment when God says no.
I believe that we need to foster an entirely different view of
prayer from that one. Our God is the Great God of the Universe, the
Creator of all things that exist other than Himself. For us to even
venture to speak to Him is presumptuous. For us to ask Him to pay
attention to our requests and then hope for Him to meet them
requires bold expectation. In fact such would be arrogance if it
were not for the simple fact that God tells us to do just that.
Looking from the proper perspective, we will not ask "What happens
when God says no?" but rather "What happens when God says yes?" That
the God of the heavens would listen to us and our needs is a great
testimony to His great love for us. And it is that love that will
lead Him to say no from time to time. At those times, we must trust
Him knowing that he loves us and desires what is best for us. We
must never forsake Him nor our duty toward Him. And we must realize
that what we interpret to be an answer of "no" may just be God
telling us to wait a while.
"This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything
according to His will, He hears us." (I John 5:14)
Advice from Jesus
about How to Pray
From Matthew 6: 5-13, and other scriptures...
Seek a Place of Solitude - Get alone with
God
First of all, realize that all great men of the Bible recognized the
necessity of getting alone to be with God when they prayed...
Matt 6:6 (KJV)
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou
hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret;
Mat 14:23 (KJV)
And when (Jesus) had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a
mountain apart to pray:
2 Ki 4:32-33 (KJV)
And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead,
and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon
them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
Confess any un-dealt-with sin in your life
Turn away from it (repent) and decide you want God to remove it
permanently from your life.
Isa 59:1-3 (KJV)
Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save;
neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have
separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face
from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with
blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies,
your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
1 John 1:8-9 (KJV)
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth
is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
KEEP AN ATTITUDE OF EXPECTANCY-
Be convinced that God is going to answer your prayer, in no uncrtain
terms.
Matt 6:6b (KJV)
...pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth
in secret shall reward thee openly.
James 1:6-7 (KJV)
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering {GR=not hesitating}. For
he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and
tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing
of the Lord.
Mat 21:21-22 (KJV)
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have
faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the
fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all
things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall
receive.
Patience in Prayer
by Joe Gatuslao
When the idea is not right, God says, "NO"
No - when the idea is not the best.
No - when the idea is absolutely wrong.
No - when though it may help you, it would create problems for
someone else.
When the time is not right, God says, "SLOW"
What a catastrophe it would be if God answered every prayer at the
snap of your fingers.
Do you know what would happen?
God would become your servant, not your master.
Suddenly God would be working for you instead of you working for
God.
When you are not right, God says, "GROW"
The selfish person has to grow in unselfishness.
The cautious person must grow in courage.
The timid person must grow in confidence,
The dominating person must grow in sensitivity.
The critical person must grow in tolerance.
The negative person must grow in positive attitudes.
The pleasure-seeking person must grow in compassion for suffering
people.
When everything is all right, God says, "GO"
Then miracles happen because Christ suffered and died for our sins,
paid our debt in full, was buried, rose again and was seen by
hundreds and received by one
A hopeless alcoholic is set free.
A drug addict finds release.
A doubter becomes a child in his belief.
Diseased tissue responds to treatment, and healing begins.
The door to your dream suddenly swings open and there stands God
saying, "GO!"
Read the following testimony of the power of prayer and be
encouraged today to pray with belief, that you might have what you
ask for, as you pray fervently, according to the will of God.
Prayer Miracles
George Benfield, a driver on the Midland Railway, living at
Derby, was standing on the footplate oiling his engine, the train
being stationary, when his foot slipped; he fell on the space
between the lines. He heard the express coming on, and had only time
enough to lie full length on the -six-foot- when it rushed by, and
he escaped unhurt. He returned to his home in the middle of the
night and as he was going up-stairs he heard one of his children, a
girl about eight years old, crying and sobbing. "Oh, father," she
said, "I thought somebody came and told me that you were going to be
killed, and I got out of bed and prayed that God would not let you
die." Was it only a dream, a coincidence? George Benfield and others
believed that he owed his life to that prayer.
God Hears and
Answers Prayer
Someone sent this to me -
a good collection of verses on prayer,
very helpful
Ps. 3:4, I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and He heard me out
of His holy hill.
Ps. 4:1, Hear me when I call, O God...have mercy...hear my prayer)
Ps. 4:3, the LORD will hear when I call unto Him.
Ps. 40:1, I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me,
and heard my cry.
Ps. 5:1, Give ear unto my words, O LORD...
Ps. 88:1,2...incline Thine ear unto my cry.
Ps. 86:1,17, Bow down Thine ear, O LORD
Ps. 17:6...Thou wilt hear me...
Ps. 66:19,20, God hath heard me...
Ps. 65:2, O Thou that hearest prayer....
Heb. 4:15, 16 throne of grace
Ps. 77:1, ...he gave ear unto me...
I Pet. 3:12, For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and
His ears are open unto their prayers...
Ps. 34:4, I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from
all my fears.
Ps. 34:6, this poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him
out of all his troubles.
Ps. 34:15, the eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears
are open to their cry.
vs. 17, the righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them
out of all their troubles.
Ps. 38:15...Thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.
Ps. 55:17, Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry
aloud: and He shall hear my voice.
Ps. 18:6, ...He heard my voice out of His temple...
Ps. 55:17, He shall hear my voice.
Ps. 55;19, God shall hear...
Ps. 107:6, 13, 19, 28, the LORD responds to our cries
I Kings 17:22, the LORD heard the voice of Elijah
Ps. 30:2, (the LORD responds)
Ps. 72:12, (the LORD delivers)
Ps. 138:3, In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me....
I Sam. 7:9, Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD
heard him.
Jonah 2:2, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and
He heard me...Thou heardest my voice.
Jer. 33:3, Call unto Me, and I will answer thee...
II Ch. 32:24, the LORD answered Hezekiah's prayer.
Opposite verse: God will not hear if: Ps. 66:18, If I regard
iniquity....
General William
Booth
1 Chronicles 26:26b
“The generals and captains and other officers of the
army had dedicated to the Lord” NLT
Once while traveling the General’s car broke down. He took advantage
of the opportunity while waiting for repairs to talk with a group of
factory workers who were laid off and looking for work. The General
said, "Some of you men never pray, you gave up praying long ago. But
I'm going to say to you; won't you pray for your children that they
may be different?" Within minutes hundreds of men knelt in silent
prayer for their families.
Some time later two employees of the General’s decided that their
satellite branch was not working out and suggested the General close
it down. The General sent back a telegram with two words on it, "TRY
TEARS." They followed his advice and a mighty increase resulted.
During his life time the General traveled nearly 5 million miles to
58 countries in the early 20th century when travel was difficult at
best compared to today. His message was clear and he was well
received wherever he went. You and I know him as General William
Booth the founder of the Salvation Army.
And his spiritual advice wherever he traveled:
"Work as if everything depended upon your work,
And pray as if everything depended upon your prayer."
Try the old fashioned way, PRAY. "Ye have not because ye ask not"
James 4:2
The Still Small Voice
Not long ago I heard a story about a young man and an old
preacher. The young man had lost his job and didn't know which way
to turn. So he went to see the old preacher. Pacing about the
preacher's study, the young man ranted about his problem. Finally he
clenched his fist and shouted, "I've begged God to say something to
help me, preacher, why doesn't God answer?"
The old preacher, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply,
something so hushed it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped
across the room. "What did you say?" he asked. The preacher repeated
himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper.
So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher's
chair. "Sorry," he said. "I still didn't hear you." With their heads
bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. "God sometimes
whispers," he said, "so we will move closer to hear Him."
This time the young man heard and he understood. We all want God's
voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our problem. But
God's is the still, small voice ... the gentle whisper. Perhaps
there's a reason. Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper.
God's whisper means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him,
until my head is bent together with His. And then, as I listen, I
will find my answer. Better still I find myself closer to God.
And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire:
and after the fire a still small voice. (1 Kings 19:12)
Does God Really
Hear Us?
I heard a story recently about a young girl who wrote a letter to
a missionary to let him know that her class had been praying for
him. But evidently she'd been told not to
request a response to her letter because the missionaries were very
busy. So the missionary got a kick out of
her letter. It said, "Dear Mr. Missionary,
we are praying for you. But we are not
expecting an answer."
I can't help but think that that little girl summarized the prayer
lives of many Christians. Sometimes we pray without expecting an
answer, even though God has assured us that He does indeed hear our
prayers. David said, "I love the Lord,
because He has heard my voice and my supplications." (Psalm
116:1).But I think many of us struggle with the nagging question,
"Is God really listening to me?" Yes, He heard David, He heard
Elijah, and He heard the apostles. But
does He hear me?
How do we really know that our prayers are answered?
Sure, there are times when we see visible results.
We may pray for someone who's sick and the next week they get
well. But more often, our prayers don't
produce flashing "neon" answers. We pray
for help in financial problems, and we don't see things get any
better. We pray for guidance in making
right decisions, but the decisions don't get any easier.
We pray for relationships with other people to improve, but
they just seem to get worse. How do we as
Christians account for that happening? How
do we explain the fact that so many of our prayers seem to go
"unanswered"?
The truth is, for a child of God there is no such thing as an
unanswered prayer. Maybe you've heard it
said before that God answers prayer in three ways.
Sometimes the answer is "yes."
Sometimes the answer is "no." And
sometimes the answer is "wait a while."
It's easy to accept an answer of "yes," but what about when God
says, "no"?
Let me suggest three principles:
First of all, we need to trust God enough to realize that our
all-loving, all-powerful Father loves us and has our best interest
at heart. So when it seems that God says
"no" to our prayers, we must trust Him enough to understand that
there must be a good reason for it. It may
be beyond our limited ability to understand, but we must simply
trust God.
Secondly, we must not forsake God.
Disappointment is a dangerous, powerful thing.
When we get the feeling that God isn't listening to us, that
He has said "no" to some prayer, we have a tendency to feel
disappointed in Him. And Satan whispers to
us, "God said He loves you, but He's not here."
And if we allow that disappointment to harbor in our hearts,
it can drive a wedge between us and God.
We must continue to be faithful to our responsibility before God.
And thirdly, we need to realize that the answer may not be "no," but
only "wait a while." God always answers
our prayers immediately, but sometimes there's a delay in the giving
of the answer and that can be a difficult thing for us to accept.
The ability to wait for an answer is one of the marks of
maturity. Be willing to let God answer in
his own time, in his own way, and in his own power.
Many people see God as a divine vending machine in which you deposit
one prayer and out pops a blessing. But
what happens when you put your money in the Coke machine and nothing
comes out? You get angry, you kick the
Coke machine. So it's not surprising that
such a view of God and prayer leads to disappointment when God says
no.
I believe that we need to foster an entirely different view of
prayer from that one. Our God is the Great
God of the Universe, the Creator of all things that exist other than
Himself. For us to even venture to speak
to Him is presumptuous. For us to ask Him
to pay attention to our requests and then hope for Him to meet them
requires bold expectation. In fact such
would be arrogance if it were not for the simple fact that God tells
us to do just that.
Looking from the proper perspective, we will not ask "What happens
when God says no?" but rather "What happens when God says yes?"
That the God of the heavens would listen to us and our needs
is a great testimony to His great love for us.
And it is that love that will lead Him to say no from time to
time. At those times, we must trust Him
knowing that he loves us and desires what is best for us.
We must never forsake Him nor our duty toward Him.
And we must realize that what we interpret to be an answer of
"no" may just be God telling us to wait a while.
New Pledge of Allegiance
Now I sit me down in school. Where
praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God. Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites, it
violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow, Becomes a Federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple, orange or green, That's no offense; it's a
freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise. Prayers spoken aloud are a
serious vice.
For praying in a public hall, Might offend
someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate, God's name is prohibited by the
state.
We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks, And pierce our noses,
tongues and cheeks.
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible. To quote the Good Book
makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen, And the 'unwed daddy,' our
Senior King.
It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong.
We can get our condoms and birth controls, Study witchcraft,
vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed, No word of God must reach
this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess, When chaos reigns the school's a
mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make: Should I be shot; My soul please
take!
Morning and Evening
Charles H. Spurgeon
“Therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you.”
- Isaiah 30:18
God often DELAYS IN ANSWERING PRAYER. We have several instances of
this in sacred Scripture. Jacob did not get the blessing from the
angel until near the dawn of day-he had to wrestle all night for it.
The poor woman of Syrophenicia was answered not a word for a long
while. Paul besought the Lord thrice that “the thorn in the flesh”
might be taken from him, and he received no assurance that it should
be taken away, but instead thereof a promise that God’s grace should
be sufficient for him.
If thou hast been knocking at the gate of mercy, and hast received
no answer, shall I tell thee why the mighty Maker hath not opened
the door and let thee in? Our Father has reasons peculiar to himself
for thus keeping us waiting. Sometimes it is to show his power and
his sovereignty, that men may know that Jehovah has a right to give
or to withhold.
More frequently the delay is for our profit. Thou art perhaps kept
waiting in order that thy desires may be more fervent. God knows
that delay will quicken and increase desire, and that if he keeps
thee waiting thou wilt see thy necessity more clearly, and wilt seek
more earnestly; and that thou wilt prize the mercy all the more for
its long tarrying.
There may also be something wrong in thee which has need to be
removed, before the joy of the Lord is given. Or, God makes thee
tarry awhile that he may the more fully display the riches of his
grace to thee at last.
Thy prayers are all filed in heaven, and if not immediately answered
they are certainly not forgotten, but in a little while shall be
fulfilled to thy delight and satisfaction. Let not despair make thee
silent, but continue instant in earnest supplication.
The Professional
A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her
daughter was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped
by the pharmacy to get some medication for her daughter.
When returning to her car, she found that she had locked her keys in
the car.
She was in a hurry to get home to her sick daughter, she didn't know
what to do, so she called her home and told the baby sitter what had
happened and that she did not know what to do.
The baby sitter told her that her daughter was getting worse. She
said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door.
"The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had
been thrown down on the ground possibly by someone else who at some
time or other had locked their keys in their car.
Then she looked at the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use
this." So she bowed her head and asked God to send her some help.
Within five minutes an old rusty car pulled up, with a dirty,
greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his
head. The woman thought, "Good Heavens. This is what you sent to
help me?" But, she was desperate, so she was also very thankful.
The man got out of his car and asked her if he could help. She said,
"Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication
and I locked my keys in my car, I must get home to her. Please, can
you use this hanger to unlock my car."
He said, "SURE." He walked over to the car, and in less than one
minute the car was opened. She hugged the man and through her tears
she said, "THANK YOU SO MUCH..... You are a very nice man."
The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of
prison today.
I was in prison for car theft and have only been
out for about an hour. "The woman hugged the man again and
with sobbing tears cried out loud..... THANK YOU GOD FOR SENDING ME
A PROFESSIONAL!" |
