Have you ever prayed to God for something and He said "no"? I'm not talking about asking for a Ferrari or a trip to France. I'm talking about asking for something that, at least in your mind, seems perfectly reasonable and perhaps deserved. Doesn't the Bible tell us that we should simply ask in Jesus name and we will receive whatever we ask? Luke 11:10 says "For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened". Matthew 21:22 says "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Mark 11:24 says "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." John 16:24 says "Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."
Are these verses not clear? What is missing from my understanding? Well, my friends, I happen to believe that like any good father, our Lord does NOT always give us what we ask for when we ask for it. Prime example happened today at church. My wife and I volunteer in the church nursery with the "crawlers" a couple of times each month and in our room we often are given on average about 6-8 little bundles of joy. 99% of the time our room is one of the calmest and quietest of all the nursery rooms as we have learned how to work well together and to soothe and entertain most any child for an hour or two. I ALWAYS pray fervently before we start for our little charges to enjoy themselves and for us to enjoy them; for them to laugh and play and not cry and be upset; for the babies to see Jesus when they look at us and to hear Jesus voice when they hear us speaking to them; to bring glory to God in our service to these little children of His. I truly believe that we have been so successful each time precisely because of this prayer and God showing mercy on us by calming and soothing these babies Himself. It has little to do with us.
But today, I knew something was wrong when I prayed my usual prayer. I didn't feel confident that all would go smoothly. For some reason, I felt God saying "no" to me. I immediately began doing my own version of "Is there any way that this cup can be passed from me? Please Father?" I began whining to Him about how I know that life can't be expected to always go smoothly and that I have to learn how to push through adversity, but come on, these are your children Lord!! Don't you want them to be happy in their experience at church? Don't you want their parents to be happy and secure in leaving their babies, some for the first time, in our care so they can attend the service? Somehow I felt him saying, "you need to experience this David". So every 60 seconds for the next several minutes we had a child dropped off at our room who immediately started wailing at the top of their lungs and could not be consoled. Parents were showing up at the door seeing all these tearful faces and screams as if they were being tortured and I was so embarassed. To be honest, I felt my pride being hit like a ton of bricks. Our room is one of the superstar rooms! We can calm any baby! Turns out WE can't. Only God can. Maybe God needed to make that point.
I know this is a pitiful little example of need not being met when so many of you have so much greater needs that you are praying fervently for and not seeing the tangible results of God meeting your need. But God works in all circumstances, big and small, and sometimes, for own good, I think He says "No, you need to experience this". I love my Father for caring enough about me to lead me through experiences that are going to help make me stronger and more prepared for my future. Are you willing to let God say "no" to you and to obey His wishes? It will be the best decision you ever make if you do.
