When God Answers 'NO'

"And [Jesus] withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:41-42)

Have you ever stopped and really considered what's going on here in these verses? Jesus is praying and asking if there is a way in which He can be relieved of the suffering that He is about to endure. And what is the Father's answer? Well, we know what Jesus endures next and therefore we can conclude that the answer was 'no, this is my will and this is what must be done'. Jesus Christ - God in the flesh, He without sin - prays for possible deliverance from the wrath of God and the answer is 'no'.

So have you ever felt like you have prayed and requested something from God so earnestly and fervently only to have your request not granted? Well guess what, you're not alone. The real question is how do you respond when God answers 'no'? Do you respond much like Jesus who put the Father's will over His own and pressed forward to endure the suffering that laid before Him? Or do you respond a little differently?

You see, I can't tell you why God answers 'no' sometimes but what I can promise you is that God's will is perfect and holy and ours' is certainly not. God works with eternity in mind rather than we who most of the time get can't see past our short finite lives here on this earth. God went on as planned and violently poured His wrath out on Jesus, but He also raised Him on the third day and has exalted Him and has bestowed on Him the name that is above every name and at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow on heaven and on earth and every tongue will confess that He indeed is Lord. So be encouraged that suffering here is only temporary and God has great reasons for such suffering. For the apostle Paul considered that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. God knows what's best and there is great peace to be found in His provision and sovereignty.

Now some people might begin to wonder that if God is sovereign and does as He pleases then do my prayers really mean anything? The Bible would be quick to let you know that prayer is meaningful and actually changes things from time to time. For exactly how that works see someone with much more intelligence than myself. The Bible has plenty of examples of God answering 'yes', and God still answers 'yes' today. But I also think there is much more to prayer than getting a 'yes' or 'no' answer. Prayer is more about God's glory rather than about our own happiness and comfort. Prayer is an expression of our complete dependancy on God for everything. He does not have to give us everything that we ask for, but we do have to ask Him for everything. I am lovingly not going to give Asher (my son) everything that he asks for, but he knows that he has no shot of getting anything without first asking me. This clearly exhibits his complete dependancy on me. Prayer is a submissive act of becoming like a child and reaching out to God our Father. Prayer denies any authority of our own and acknowledges the sovereignty of God.

So be encouraged to let all of your requests be made to God but continue to ask with an eternal mindset ready to accept whatever answer He gives. Maybe God will say 'yes' or maybe He'll say 'no' but regardless, honor Him by asking.

- Terry