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Closer to Christ
When God Says No
A big part of our prayers is asking God to do things or provide things. Take a moment and think about some of the things you have asked God for.
Sometimes God says, “Wait”. This might be because of our maturity level or getting other people to cooperate, which might take time.
Sometimes God says, “No”. We ask Him for situations we want or things we want, and we do not get them. Why might that be?
Stop here just for a moment and in your mind and heart think of some reasons.
The most important reason is because God loves us and those we have included in our prayers. He sometimes says No to our prayers because He wants the best for everyone. The following will help you understand this and it is our prayer that you will never get angry or doubt God if you experience a “no” to your prayer, but rather consider the following.
God Foresees Bad Results
(Acts 21:10-14), And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.
It was Paul’s prayer and earnest desire to go to Jerusalem to preach the gospel and see his own people of his Jewish nation saved. One would think “How could God say “No” to this? But God saw bad results from this that Paul could not see. God knew of the opposition and hardness of hearts in Jerusalem and at the same time, could have used Paul elsewhere so that many souls would be saved.
Here is another example in the life of Paul;
(2 Corinthians 12:7-10), And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul wound up with some kind of handicap or illness. How many times did he pray that God would remove it from him?
You would think God would say “Yes” but did He?
What bad results would have happened to Paul if God removed the “thorn in the flesh”?
The answer is in Paul’s own words, “lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations” … “lest I be exalted above measure.”
God gave Paul a tremendous amount of wisdom and foresight. The illness or handicap that the Lord allowed in Paul’s life kept him from becoming proud which would have resulted in hurting him and others.
As you read verse 9 and 10, look at how much better the results were by God saying “NO” to Paul’s prayer.
God Sees Wrong Motives
(James 4:3), You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
- What is the definition of “amiss”?
- What is the definition of “lusts”?
It is OK to desire things in your heart as long as it does not dishonor God or, go against His Word, and as long as you know that you will not get angry or bitter if God does not allow you to have it. Pleasing God is our #1 and greatest desire. That always comes first and before any other desire we might have.
(Matthew 6:33), But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
- Do we pray and ask God for a new job so that we can make more money to spend on more worldly things that we really do not need, or because we want to provide the things needful for our household and the needs of others?
- Do we pray and ask God for wisdom or talent so that others will look up to us, or because we want to be able to be more equipped to help and serve others better?
- Do we pray thinking that we deserve to get a “Yes” from God because, after all, we are His children or, do we humbly finish our request “Never the less Father, not my will, but your will be done”?
Always be careful of your motives when you pray to our Heavenly Father. Remember, He always sees clearly what is on our hearts and praying with the right motive can make all the difference in getting your prayers answered.
Praying for People to Live Longer (Sometimes God Says “No”)
One of the toughest situations we can be in is to know that someone we love, who is a Christian, is shortly going to be with Jesus because of an illness, injury, or just because they are getting old. Have you ever asked God to heal someone of a fatal illness? These moments are very tough on our emotions and feelings. However, the truth is, Heaven is a much better place. There is no sickness or suffering there. People get to see Jesus and walk along with Him in person. It is beautiful. They get to join, forever, with loved ones who have gone there before them.
(Revelation 21:2-4), Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.
Why are you praying to keep people here?
We do not want our loved ones to leave us. But if God calls them home to Heaven even though we prayed and asked God to let them stay here with us, we are happy for them because, they are in a much better place and they do not have to suffer their sickness or injury or old age ever again. We might be sad for a little while, but life goes by so fast and we know, because we love Jesus, we will see them again one day.
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Another way that we can understand why God would say yes or no to our prayer requests is by asking ourselves this: “If God would allow me to have what I am asking for, will it help develop the fruit of the Holy Spirit in my life?”
Go to Galatians 5:22-23 and write on a piece of paper, the nine fruits of the Spirit. Use it to help you memorize them.
Because our #1 desire is to please God, if He answers “no” to our prayer because it would hinder the development of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we gladly take His “no” for an answer because, more than our desire for the requests we make, we desire to be filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
- What is the definition of “longsuffering”?
- What is the definition of “meekness”?
- What is the definition of “temperance”?
God’s Ways Are Higher Than Our Ways
(Isaiah 55:8-9), For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Another reason why we accept God’s “no” for an answer is because, our Heavenly Father’s wisdom and understanding is infinitely higher than ours! Sometimes we think things should be the way that we think they should be, but when we find out that our Heavenly Father’s ways are just the opposite, we happily change our opinion to be like His. Even when we cannot totally understand why His ways would be different, we still trust that His thoughts and ways are best for us.
God’s No Means: GOOD!
We also gladly accept God’s no for an answer because, God’s no means good.
(Romans 8:28), And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
As we saw in Paul’s request in (2 Corinthians 12), God’s No meant God’s goodness working on Paul’s behalf.
And so, when God says, No, we happily accept it because God’s No Means: GOOD!
We would like to end this lesson with the following;
When You Don’t See God’s Hand
Please look up all of the verses and follow along.
(2 Peter 3:3-4) It has been 2,000 years since the Lord Jesus said He would come back. Some of you might have thought He would have returned by now. Your heart is praying and longing to see the evil in this world end. You can hardly stand to see or hear of any more murders, thefts, drug and alcohol abuse, starving children around the world, broken homes, etc. etc. You feel like you just want to scream!
When you do not see God’s hand, TRUST HIS PROMISE (2 Peter 3:8-18) The Lord promised He will return and set things right. He is coming back, whether people believe it or not. We must remember that He has His own timing and there are still souls to be rescued. One day, all will see that Christ truly keeps His promises!(Genesis 37:23-28) In (Ch. 39) Joseph is falsely accused by his master’s wife and winds up in prison for years. What went through Josephs mind all that time? What did he feel like in his heart? Joseph did that which was right by refusing the temptation. He showed honor and respect to his master and even more, to God. So why then is he in prison? Why didn’t God rescue him from such a fate?
What do you do when you don’t see God’s hand? TRUST HIS WISDOM (Genesis 45:1-7; 50: 19-20) Joseph was greatly blessed for not giving up on the Lord. He acknowledged that God’s wisdom was guiding him along through all those years of difficulty. Joseph did not see the moment of deliverance for many years, but still he trusted in the wisdom of God as we see in his proclamation to his brothers.
(1 Samuel 1:2-11) In this passage, a man named Elkanah is introduced. He has a wife named Hannah who was not able to bear children for him. For years, Hannah hoped to see God’s hand in her life. Year after year she remained barren, and on top of that, she was provoked by her adversary constantly because of this matter. But through all this, Hannah did not give up on her faith in the Lord.
When you don’t see God’s hand, TRUST HIS GOODNESS
(1 Samuel 1:19-20) Notice that in (vs. 19) Hannah has not yet received an answer to her prayers, yet she still worshipped God. We have to remember that God is full of goodness and desires to give us the best that we need at that moment. Unfortunately, we do not always know what is really best for us, or God’s special plans that He has in store for us.
(Psalm 73:1-16) There are many things in life that don’t seem fair. Sometimes it seems that the wicked are more blessed than the righteous. It tempts us to get discouraged. We do not wish judgment upon any, but we must remember, people make their own choices in life and will suffer the consequences if their ways are contrary to God’s commandments.
When you don’t see God’s hand, TRUST HIS JUDGMENT
(Psalm 73:16-28)
(1 Thessalonians 4:13) When we lose a loved one who was a believer, there is a sorrow in our hearts. Some have even prayed that if only the Lord would bring them back for just a few more moments or if they could only see them one more time.
When you don’t see God’s hand, TRUST HIS SALVATION
(1 Thessalonians 4:14-18)
When we don’t see God’s hand, we should:
- Trust His promise
- Trust His wisdom
- Trust His goodness
- Trust His judgment
- Trust His salvation
There are things that will happen in life that you and I may not understand.
When these times come, and you do not see God’s hand,
THEN TRUST HIS HEART!