Growing Through SufferingSample

When God Says No

The power of prayer can move mountains. Jesus said that we will receive “anything” we ask for in prayer “if [we] have faith” (Matthew 21:22). But what happens when the mountains don’t move and God seems to being saying no to our prayer?

Even when our faith is strong, our sins confessed, and we fast and pray, God may be silent. During these times, we find ourselves in good company. The apostle Paul asked God three times to remove his “thorn”—a source of “torment” to him (2 Corinthians 12:7-8). God said no. David, a man after God’s own heart, begged God to spare his dying son, fasting and laying on the ground all night; God’s answer was no (2 Samuel 12:13-23). Jesus’ soul was crushed with grief as he prayed in Gethsemane, and he repeatedly pleaded with God to take away his cup of suffering; God refused (Matthew 26:36-46).

We may never know the whys behind God’s decisions, but we can trust that his answer reflects what’s best. As a loving parent, God has a bigger perspective and sometimes needs to protect us from ourselves. Paul saw his weakness as an opportunity for God’s power to shine through him. David worshiped the Lord at the Tabernacle after his son died (2 Samuel 12:20). Jesus submitted himself to God’s will (Matthew 26:39). We must also cede our wills to his authority.

In God’s paradoxical economy, deficiencies are not liabilities, and letting go of one thing can help us grasp something better. Weakness is an asset that allows God’s power to shine through us. Paul knew what it was to be down and out (2 Corinthians 6:9-10), but like David, he also knew he had all he needed because he trusted in God (Psalm 23:1).

The possibility that God may say no to our requests should never dissuade us from praying. We are encouraged—even commanded—to believe in God’s ability to heal, to ask him for health, to seek him for relief, and to knock on his door for provision as an expression of faith in his power and his goodness (Matthew 7:7-8). We honor our heavenly Father by beseeching him to move mountains in our lives. But even if he doesn’t, we accept his response and trust in his promises that we will always have what we need.