Have you ever prayed so hard and so long for something, and then felt the crushing weight of disappointment when God says no?

I’ve been there. I think most of us have. God doesn’t always answer our prayers in the way we expect. He doesn’t always shout out a great, glorious “yes” from Heaven. He isn’t a celestial vending machine, and our ideas of what we need are not always the same as His ideas.

Much of the time, even when we feel close to Him, God is a mystery. His ways are unknown to us.

In Psalm 8:3-4, David wrote, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

Do we know how to set in place the moon and the stars? Does the work of our hands establish darkness and light, land and sea, animal and man?

No. We are so limited, especially compared to a sovereign God without limits. And yet, God cares for us deeply. He listens to our prayers. He communes with us. He longs to be with us.

I don’t believe God delights in saying no to our prayers. However, I do believe He says no because He cares for us. He says no because He sees the big picture and has a plan for our lives. He says no because He is the Lord, the famous One who knows all and sees all and is glorified above all.

When God says no, He is not rejecting you.

He is not telling you that you’ve been praying the wrong way. He is inviting you to walk beside Him. He is inviting you to do life with Him and move with Him, to draw closer to His will and stronger in understanding. He wants you to trust Him and rely on Him, even when no is not the answer you expected.

When God says no, we have a choice to make. We can be bitter and angry and resentful. We can turn away from God because He didn’t give us the thing we so desperately thought we needed.

Or, we can give God the glory and the praise, even in the storm. Because even though there are other things we want in life, He is all that we truly need. 

I’m not saying it’s easy when God says no. It still hurts. But know that God loves you, He hears your prayers, and He does give us answers, even if they aren’t always the ones we hope for.

And never forget… you are onederfully created in Him.

Love,
Becca