When God Says No
Does God listen to your prayers? Take this study to learn more about listening to God.
Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EDT.
Prayer was never meant to be a one way conversation. We pray to God often, listing the things we hope He will work out for us. We may even gently remind Him of what is still left unresolved from the previous day. There is nothing wrong with this – He loves to hear from us, and appreciates the step of faith that it takes to just let Him handle the burdens of our heart. But sometimes, we may not be paying full attention to his answers.
Sometimes, God says “no.” That alone is His answer. Not “maybe.” Not “later.” Not “I’ll think about it.” Just simply “no, that is not what I have in mind for you.”
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When this happens, is it possible that God is hoping to draw us into a deeper conversation with Him? Could it be that He is waiting to be asked? What would happen if you prayed, “Ok. If that’s not what you have in mind for me, then show me where to go from here.”
It may be that He is trying to guide us down a path, but we are refusing to follow. We pretend we don’t notice that all the signs are pointing us in a particular direction. We assume that God just hasn’t gotten around to answering our prayer yet; or at least the way we intended for it to be resolved.
It may be that we have given God no choice but to keep saying “no,” until we finally say “yes.” Rather than asking for what we have in mind, try asking what He has in mind instead.
Just as any parent has to do from time to time, He only says “no,” because He loves us so.
“Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline” (Revelation 3:19 , NIV).
Dear God, we trust that You have charted a path for us. We pray that You will reveal it on a daily basis, and then give us the strength to follow, even when it isn’t easy to do so. We feel You calling us to something higher, to something bigger than ourselves. Please help our own desires to get out of the way so that we are free to discover what You have in mind. In Jesus Name, Amen
Questions: How can we stay in tune with what God is telling us? Why do we so often insist on doing it our way?
About the author Janet Morris Grimes
Tags: burdens, chatroom, discipline, God, guide, hope, Janet Morris Grimes, love, pray, prayer, signs
10 Responses to “When God Says No”
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Trisha (& other sisters here), thank you SO MUCH for encouraging me. Your words meant to much to me, & really encouraged me. Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers, too! Yes, I am sort of hanging on, but of course, God is somehow keeping me. Although, yes, there could be 1 million worries to think about each day, I just pray by faith that God will keep us, me, family, etc., as I lift-up all my worries to Him! If you happen to remember, pls lift up a prayer for a teacher in NYC! I need God’s strength continually. I pray God is also with each of you, and His peace! God bless.
God has said no to me many times and after a while I see that His answer was for the best
Five years ago, my husband resigned as pastor of a church and we began a journey of trusting God to direct us into the future. I have prayed and prayed that my husband would be placed back into the pastoral role, but that has not happened. About two months ago, we got earnest with our praying and immediately almost, my husband was transferred to another city, with a promotion in the same field. I don’t know what God’s doing, and I don’t understand why my husband isn’t back in the pastorate, but I trust God does know what He’s doing and I want His will, not mine, even though my heart aches and I truly believe God called him to the ministry. We have learned though, that you don’t have to be a pastor to minister. God is good-all the time.
i am lifting you up as well Em. i’m from NYC and because it is such a “jungle”, it was always everyone, including myself,all about self protecting. God led me here, to a desert, (literally NM) to thirst after Him in this dry land. When you grow up constantly looking over your back, having an attitude of “i’ll get you before you get me”, it spills over and effects every area of your life! Esp relationships. The LORD has been transforming me from saying everything on my mind to being able to consider my words. In NYC if you aren’t big in physical statute, you teach yourself to use your tongue like a switch blade. It’s all about fear and self protection. Jesus is showing me daily how He is my protector. This devotional is powerful b/c it reminds us to constanly pray and ask Him about what He wants. i was always in my OWN strength from self preservation. He is pressing all these sour grapes within me until He gets the finest of wines! He may have you where you are for the same reasons. Take the authority of God’s POWER within you to silence the voice of the evil one who only wants to scare you away from what you are doing for these unfortunate ESL students. i believe the enemy hates teachers b/c Jesus was the most powerful one. So there you are a daughter of the Most High God and Creator of the Universe, in a place where you can make such a dramatic difference in their lives. It’s the place that’s “bigger than you are” and God likes it when we have to go to Him for all our needs. i send blessings your way and thanks for your courage to do what you are doing. BIg Hug~trisha
Thanks!
Hi Em,
We will definitely be praying for you but may I suggest that you also take a minute and fill out the Need Prayer form and a prayer mentor from this website will actually pray for you and be in contact with you as you work thru this process. They love to pray! You can find the form at http://powertochange.com/experience/need-prayer/
Thank you. Boy, am I struggling with this! I’m a young adult woman, & I’ve recently become a teacher in nyc. It’s been tough! But I am hanging on (by His grace! pray for me!) Part of me wonders if God wants me to do ESL for long, and honestly I am not 100% thrilled about staying in esl, but I wonder if He is telling me that, or something else. Also, pls lift up a prayer for me with regards to missions… I have a curiosity for it in different areas of my life, but I’ll be honest, the human fear is sometimes something I have to overcome (health, finances, etc.) Thanks for this challenging message. Pray for confirmation, wisdom, humility, discernment & for me to cooperate with God in His Plans for me! (Jer. 29:11).
You are both so right Hailey and La!We need to stay in His word and tune our heart strings as the old hymn says! Love that Isaiah verse La!!
It’s difficult for me to cypher between my own (what I believe) is good judgement, and then what is my Lord’s calling for me. I know that I always want to be on the path God wants me on, but I found I need to be extremely patient, and then it will come to me… I guess it’s all about the peeks and the valley’s. The valley’s really do make us stronger and wiser. But when we ask, He will answer us. The results of doing it His way, are perfect. I like this devotional. ~ A sweet reminder in Isaiah 46: “I will be your God throughout your lifetime, until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will carry you. I will carry you along and save you.” ~ Oh what a friend we have in Him.
How can we stay in tune with what God is telling us? By being in His Word and getting to know Him intimately. The more we know God the more we will be able to discern His will from our own. If once we think we hear God telling us to do something, then we can hold that up against the Word and test it to see if it truly is something that the Lord would call us to do or if it is our desires that we are mistaking to be His. It also helps to talk to friends and family members who you trust; see what they think about what you feel God is calling you to do. I think many times we insist on doing things our way because usually our way seems easier that it usually brings about results quicker :) God usually has us do hard things that will bring about results in the future, whether that be near or far, but his results are always much better than our own. We need to believe that He has our best interest at hand.