When God Says No

Luke 18: 1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

One of the lies of the devil is that the heavens are brass. Yet sometimes we can be ardent in our prayers only to seemingly get no answer. The misguided lament then is often that we start to believe God either has not heard our prayers, or does not answer them. Neither is true however as we can always be assured that God hears our prayer and does answer them.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 2 Chronicles 7: 14-15

The problem is sometimes we do not like the answer. We live in a microwave society where only the answer "yes" is acceptable. Too often we do not go to God for guidance but to rubber stamp a decision we have already made. But God typically has three answers. Yes, no, or wait. Realize that when we refuse to accept "no" or "wait", that we essentially believe we know better than God.

Look at the life of Joseph. Sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph had to grow up fast, in a culture he did not understand. He had to learn a new language and acclimate to being a servant after being the favorite son of Jacob for his entire life. The Bible tells us that God was with Joseph and prospered him in the house of Potiphar. Sometimes we can read that and minimize what Joseph had to go through but this was still a 17 year old boy being forced to be a slave. Even though God prospered him, he remained a slave. The harder times however were ahead for Joseph as he would then spend over ten years in prison for being falsely accused. In fact, Joseph refused the advances of Potiphar's wife by correctly claiming he could not go against God! Despite doing the right thing, there was Joseph in prison. Once again, the Bible says that God was with Joseph and that he prospered while in prison. That still does not change his circumstances. He still was in prison and prison back then did not come with a basic cable package!

Even though the Bible does not show us Joseph's prayer life, we know he was close to God and that his closeness deepened the longer he stayed in prison. Surely he must have prayed every night for God to deliver him from that cell. Every night, for over ten years. The answer from God was "wait." It is in our darkest hour that we either turn away from God or turn toward Him. Joseph turned toward him. I am sure the answer of wait must have seemed like a "no." Ten years for something he didn't even do and we can get upset of we feel our prayer is not answered by the end of the week!

Why did God make Joseph wait? Was it some form of cruelty? Not according to the Bible:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Remember, we either believe what the Bible tells us or we do not. According to this verse, God is working in all things in our lives for our good. When you are praying for a season and it seems the answer is not coming, remember, God is still working in it and He is working in it for your good. Joseph sat in that cell for over ten years and God was working in all things for him, for his good. God had a plan for his life. Joseph would be the tool God would use to save the world from a deadly seven year famine, including the chosen people of Israel. Joseph would become Prime Minister of Egypt and answer only to Pharaoh. He would oversee the preservation of society and save untold lives. Was he ready to do all of this when he was thrown in prison? No. Was he ready after five years in prison? No. God knew when he would be ready. God would know when his heart was purified from the bitterness and resentment he must have felt toward his brothers. God knew when his spirit had been cleansed from the anger and disappointment he must have felt toward Potiphar and his wife. How do we know these things came to pass? Because Joseph never sought retribution toward Potiphar or his wife even though he could have once he rose to power. His brothers lived with the shame of what they had done their entire lives and the fear that Joseph would seek revenge. Even after Jacob passed away, the brothers would plead to Joseph for their lives, offering themselves as slaves to him and Joseph would display the work God had done in his heart over a ten year period where it seemed that his prayers were going unanswered:

But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50: 19-21

Could we have been so gracious to those who had done so much wrong to us? I am sure Joseph could not have been so gracious early on in his wilderness. I am sure that he sat many a night up in his cell, wondering why this had befallen him. Many a night dealing with the anger and resentment that must have been trying to fester in his soul towards the men who sold him into slavery; his own brothers. But God was working on him in that cell too. He was working on him for his good. For His future plans for him.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

And so God is working on us as well in our cells. In the prisons we make for ourselves in this harsh cold world. In the slavery we can cast ourselves into. We turn toward God and earnestly pray but to seemingly no avail but remember, not receiving a "yes" answer does not mean God has not answered. The answer might be "wait, I am still working on something in you, for your good and the plans I have for you and the rest of your life."

And sometimes the answer is "no." Do you remember growing up and being told "no" by your parents? I remember I couldn't stand the answer of "because I said so." Now as an adult I understand that they simply knew better than I did at that time. It is the same way with God in our lives beloved. He simply knows better. Why? Because God sees all time, He is above all time. He sees our beginning and our end. Take for example, we are praying for a job we really want. We covet the job because it will pay us a lot of money or give us great benefits. We see what is directly before us only. God sees everything! He sees what will happen to us if we were to get that job. He sees how it will provide undue stress that will lead to health problems, or marital problems, or will pull you away from church. The problem is that we only are dealing with what is directly in front of us; what we see. But remember what the Bible teaches us:

We live by faith, not by sight. 2Corinthians 5:7

Our sight tells us that what we see is good. Eve once saw that the fruit was good, so she took it despite the promises and warnings from God. We cannot walk by sight because often what the world shows us is false. We only see the exterior of our decisions. We walk by faith because God sees everything and knows everything.

The Bible tells us that the Apostle Paul once pleaded with the Lord three times in prayer to remove a "thorn in his flesh." Many have speculated that this was some kind of physical ailment Paul suffered from and others believe it may have been the searing guilt Paul may have experienced from his days persecuting the church; where he oversaw the deaths of Christians. In the case of Paul, the answer from God was not "wait" it was "no."

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2Corinthians 12: 7-10

Paul had been taken up to the third heavens, to paradise itself and heard "inexpressible things" which "man is not allowed to tell." Those were the surpassingly great revelations Paul refers to here. He was responsible for spreading the Gospel on three missionary journeys and eventually would write ?? of the New Testament. These things can often lead one to pride and forgetting that it is God that provides all. Now, Paul was suffering from this messenger from Satan and according to these passages, he earnestly prayed for God to take it away. The answer from God however was "no." In order for the power of God to rest upon us, we must be so dependent upon Him as to have virtually nothing of ourselves left. We cannot lean upon our own understanding or our own strength. We cannot live by our sight. Our faith must be enough because we must always remember that His grace is sufficient for us too.

As it went for Paul, it can go for us as well. The answer may be "no" because God is using your current situation to draw you into a deeper relationship and dependence upon Him; so that His power may rest upon you in an even greater manner. Our sight may show us that God is denying us unfairly but our faith knows that He is working in us for our good; therefore His decision must not only be fair but be in our best interest. We live in the momentary but God is always about the eternal. The answer for our eternal benefit might just be "no." It was so once for Jesus Himself.

Remember, Jesus has experienced everything we will have to deal with in this life. He also prayed earnestly once in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew the cross was before Him and the Bible gives us insight into how distraught our Lord and Savior was:

And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Luke 22: 44

What a powerful word picture for the suffering Jesus went through just in preparation for what lay before Him. But just two verses earlier, Christ shows us the correct posture to take even when we believe the answer from God will be "no"

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." Luke 22: 42

Even in the face of a denial from God we must always remember that it is more important that His will be done; in our lives and in everything. Our will only lives by sight. His will is eternal and requires our faith.

Don't listen to the lies of the enemy. God hears your prayers beloved and He does answer all of them. Sometimes the answer will be "yes" if we humble ourselves and turn from wickedness and are praying in alignment with His will for our lives. Sometimes the answer will be "wait" because He is still working on something within us, preparing us for the great plans He has for our lives. Sometimes the answer will be "no" but we have to trust that He knows better because the Bible tells us that He is working in all things for our good. Have you ever looked back on a decision or relationship that did not work out and think, "thank God!" At the time it sure seemed like the right thing but with the benefit of time and perspective, we see it would have been a poor decision? That perspective of time is what God already has, in every situation in your current life!

Live by faith, not sight. Let His will be done. Amen

Reverend Anthony Wade June 11, 2009