Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

I don't know whether you are or have been a parent of young children. But, if so (and even though you unquestionably would give your life for them without hesitation, and you want them to have all good things), have you ever said "no" to requests that they made for reasons that you, even with your limited human perspective, knew were valid and substantial based on prior experience that they had not yet lived long enough to acquire? 

Have you ever said 'no' based on your greater knowledge of aspects of the overall situation that your children are not aware of, or would not yet be able to understand? 

Have you said 'no' out of your concern for their welfare, safety, or overall best interests? 

Have you said 'no' in order to help them develop qualities that characterize mature individuals, such as patience and discipline?

Then how much more so might God, Who loved us so much that He made it possible for us to live forever with Him through the death of His own Son, and furthermore did so while we were disobedient to Him through sin, and even though we are often disobedient even once saved; Who is omniscient; Who knows, even better than we do or can, what is in both our short-term and long-term best interests; Who wants His children to grow and mature spiritually; and Who also receives such requests from billions of people, at least some of whose requests are mutually exclusive, so that it would be impossible to fully grant all of them; thus say "no" to us.

And often, His response is not even a "no" (although it may seem that way to us at the time), but merely a "not yet" -- for the same reasons or purposes -- to a request that we make.

You might also fully examine the circumstances in which you find yourself to see if God is opening a door or creating an opportunity for you to receive what you are asking for, but is doing so in a manner that is other than the specific way or within the specific time frame that you had in mind when you made the request.

December 02 2015 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jami Anderson

God has all the plans for our life mapped out. When he says no its because its not his plan. He will say no to prevent you from making mistakes. He will say no to say yes to something better. Gods plans are always the best and they happen on His timing, not ours! 

"Be still and know that I am God." That verse is one of my favorites because when I see that God isn't giving me a yes to my prayer, I always think about that verse and wait patiently on Him for guidance. His timing is perfect timing! God's grace is so amazing! ♡♥♡

December 02 2015 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Agnes Stuart

Sometimes it is as James 4:3 says, "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

December 03 2015 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Andy Mangus I am a Christian since October 1979 & devoted truth seeker.

My usual short answer to this question is rooted in a reply from my mom and dad while growing up that I heard on more than one occasion. "The answer is no because I know what is best for you!" Did you ever hear your parents tell you that? I would think you probably did. And, so it is many times in scripture that God either directly or indirectly answers a request or one's desire with a no or with a condition to have that desire granted! Like I heard probably many times while growing up, I heard my parents say "No" to many things and situations. And, because I knew how much they loved me, even though I wanted my way--as per usual--I had to be obedient as their child. That is exactly what we each as one of God's children need to understand is that "Father God knows best!"..and, that sometimes or many times the answer is "No". --Andy--

May 26 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Dale Casselman Christian/Circus Clown

Think of an airport. You have a lot of action going on in a relatively small area. So, some planes need to wait on other plains as they land and take off. Some are on the runway taxiing out, and others are in a circling pattern, ready to land. People are also getting in and out of cars and taxis and shuttles, and everything is timed as though it were a symphony.

Now look at this one airport as an engine that is going to drive as many things as you can add together. Let's just do one person. So, on the way from the airport, a woman asks her relative that picked her up to stop by a grocery store as she would like to cook dinner for the family. As they leave the store, there is a woman begging for help. This happy traveller helps the woman out with some food, and they give her a lift to a shelter, where she is staying. Long story short this woman works with a lot of big money people back in her city, that can do a lot for this hard time community. 

So let's stop here and see what happened here. Well, the woman probably asked God for a safe and productive trip. She may be a Christian or the person with her may be, and prayed for God to use them that day. The recipient of their help might have been asking the Lord for days or months to help them out, and He knew all along how this woman from afar, would not just help out, but, open up a source of help that will perpetuate to helping many more lives. So the women had to meet at that store at a certain time. Even the weather had to be right for begging outdoors. The flight had to be on time, and possibly it was the conversation in the car, that brought about the idea of the traveller wanting to cook for the family.

If you take that story, and just keep adding imagination to it as you add more lives and events, you will get the gist of just how awesome God's plan really is, and why sometimes prayers take awhile to get answered or are "better" answered.

Remember now, as you are looking at this. God also keeps track of every hair that falls out of your scalp. R.C. Sproul has a teaching on the Maverick Molecule. Do yourself a favor and watch it. I will mention it quite often because it is saying that if there is one maverick molecule in the universe, then God is not sovereign.

I would like to add to that right here by saying, if this were the case, and you believe otherwise, then why are you going to God, asking Him why your prayers are not answered? Because He would not have total control of it.

I hope this helped. I did not wanna follow the others as it seems to me to be a deeper question of who we think that God is, and how He much is going on all around us, that we do not attribute to answered prayer.

No, with God if it is for the good of anyone, it's always in His amazing timing. I believe the best example of time is when we have to wait. It begins to come alive with different emotions, and attitudes, and expressions. It presents budding flowers, and the first cry of a newborn, and of course that last gasp for life, into submission of a life worn down in time.

I love you as all the brethren do.

November 28 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report