II Corinthians 12:7-9 "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of the Christ may rest upon me." One of the problems Christians face when they seek God in prayer is a lack of patience. They pray to God and are seeking for an answer from the Lord. They desire for the Lord to answer that prayer immediately. The truth of the matter is, the Lord doesn't always answer prayer whenever we desire him to answer prayer. Sometimes the Lord delays prayer. In the book of I Samuel chapter 1, you read about Hannah whose womb was closed. She prayed to God for a child. The Lord didn't answer her prayer exactly when she desired for it to be answered. However, the Lord eventually granted her request for a child. As a result, the prophet Samuel was born and he was the judge of Israel. Sometimes we become too impatient on God and we immediately expect him to answer our prayers. God doesn't necessarily answer according to our timetable. Many times the Lord answers according to his own timetable. Sometimes that could mean waiting for years, which is something we have a difficult time accepting. However, God's timing is always right. God knows our frame and he knows what time is appropriate in which to answer our prayers. God knows us and knows that sometimes it takes some preparation for us to be ready to handle what God has for us. We think we're ready for what we're requesting from God right this moment. However, the Lord knows better.
Another problem Christians have when it comes to seeking God for prayer is accepting the fact that God doesn't always answer our prayers the way we think He should answer our prayers. We tend to think that when the Lord answers our prayer, it will always be in the affirmative. The truth of the matter is, God's answers aren't always yes. Sometimes God's answers are "no." No is just as much of an answer to prayer as yes is. For some strange reason, we fail to see "no" is just as much of an answer to prayer as "yes" is. Read the passage in II Corinthians 12:7-9 when Paul mentions about the thorn in the flesh which was the messenger from Satan to buffet him, lest he be exalted above meausure. Paul mentioned that he besought the Lord three times asking that the "thorn" be departed from him. The Lord refused his request, saying His grace is sufficient for Paul. God answered Paul's prayer. It's not the answer the Apostle Paul had originally desired. But it was God's answer to Paul's prayer. We just need to recognize that "no" is as equally as sufficient of an answer as "yes" is. The problem is we don't like a negative answer. We want God to be a "yes" God that we can manipulate. We desire for God to always grant our requests when we make those requests. God doesn't always work that way. We should be thankful that God doesn't always answer our prayers in the affirmative.
Sometimes we as Christians don't know how to pray or what to pray for. Many times we'll request God for something we desire and never recognize if he gave us that request, it could be harmful to us or probably we wouldn't want it once God answered our prayers in the affirmative. Romans 8:26-27 states, "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." What a blessing that is! Sometimes we'll face situations in which we're confused and don't know how to pray. We're emotionally in shambles. I'm thankful that the Spirit of God knows how to intercede on our behalf when we don't know how to pray. There've been some desires I've had that didn't work according to what I desired. God didn't answer my prayer the way I desired them to be answered. There have been times I've had to be honest and say I don't know how to pray for this. I've had to tell the Lord that whatever your will is in that particular area of my life that it will be done and give me the grace to accept your will in that particular area of my life. One thing we need to recognize is there are times when we are sailing through some turbulent waters and emotionally we don't know what's best for us. We'll be praying amiss not recognizing it's for our good. We better be thankful that God doesn't always say "yes" to what we pray for. We would be in a heap of trouble if God granted all of our requests.
There are some young people as I'm speaking that are single and are praying for God to give them a spouse. It's difficult many times when God doesn't grant our desires at the time we so desire for them to be granted. Many young people's lives have been in a mess because they wouldn't wait on God when it came to seeking his will for a spouse. Many times we'll see the first person that comes along the pike and we'll jump at the opportunity. However, God didn't will for the individual couple to marry. They married and their lives were in shambles all because they weren't willing to wait on God and wait for God's approval on who they should marry. Many young couples have married one another and God wasn't a thousand miles in that union. It's very imperative that when God says "no" to us that we follow that and not rebel. The word "no" can be our very best friend. There have been people who have been spared from tons of heartache because they obeyed God when he answered in the negative. When I say the word "negative", I mean no. I'm not suggesting in the way I use "negative" that it's a bad thing. The term "negative" is a good thing if God says "no." The word "no" will spare you from all kinds of sorrow if you will heed to it when God doesn't answer your prayer the way you desire for it to be answered. Many times we don't recognize how great of a friend "no" can be until the situation has passed. Then we recognize it was for our own good when God declined to answer our prayers the way we desired. Of course, the word "no" just doesn't apply to seeking for a wife. It could apply to a multitude of other areas in our lives such as a move to another state, a new job, friendships, new opportunities in different places, and the list continues. God has his reason when he says no.
God sometimes will say no because when we petitioned our requests to the Lord, we were praying amiss and asking to consume it for our own lusts (James 4:3). Sometimes we might be seeking God for divine healing for ourselves or for a dear loved one of hours. God may refuse to heal that individual we so dearly love. That doesn't imply God is being mean or doesn't love us. It's just that it doesn't fit in God's plan to heal that individual. Sometimes that can be very hard to swallow when it's our spouse, our parents, or our own children. The thing we must recognize is that God has a plan and he knows what's best. Sometimes a healing touch from God can bring glory to the Lord. The Lord has raised up people from the deathbed of affliction and the Lord used them for a great work to glorify the Lord. There are other people the Lord has chosen to remain in their infirmity. Sometimes our sickness can bring glory to the Lord. Sometimes the world needs to see that serving the Lord is worth it whether in sickness or health. There are some people that God chooses not to heal simply because that individual wouldn't walk as close to God if they were in divine health. Sometimes the best Christians are those that are experiencing physical difficulties. When we experience physical difficulties, we know that we must be dependent on God. Otherwise, if those same people were well physically, they probably wouldn't look to the Lord like they should.
One of the things I've learned when requesting something from the Lord is to be cautious and not plead and cajole esp. if the Lord remains silent or hasn't seemingly answered our prayer yet. Sometimes the Lord will say to us "no" but we plead and beg anyway. I'm reminded of the story in I Samuel 8 where the Israelites wanted a king. The prophet Samuel warned them what it would be like if they were to have a king. God told Samuel to warn the Israelites the consequences of having a king. However, the Israelites didn't hearken unto the warning that Samuel gave them. God let them have their request for a king. Anybody that reads the books of both Samuels, the Kings, and the Chronicles knows what happened to the nation of Israel during the reign of numerous kings. It wasn't God's will for Israel to have a king, but he allowed them their request because Israel rejected God. God's ways may not always make sense to us. However, if God has made plain that he doesn't want something to take place in your life, you better be careful when pleading with God over and over concerning a prayer request. He may just give it to you and later on you'll regret you didn't accept "no" when God made it plain it wasn't his will for you to have what you were desiring. There's a lesson in what I just said: be careful in what you pray for. Sometimes we pray for things and we know not what we're asking. That's something I'm trying to learn in light of situations not working the way I desired for them to work. Even though it's been difficult to accept at times, I much rather not have what I think I desire then be granted my request and later on down the road regret that I didn't accept God's perfect will for my life.
We as Christians should always be cautious when praying. We need to recognize when we pray that we don't always know what to ask for. I'm thankful for Romans 8:26, 27. I'm glad the Spirit of God intercedes for us. We need to remember that "no" is just as much of an answer as "yes". The problem is when we request something from the Lord, we don't want him to answer negatively. We want him to grant our requests. However, we don't recognize the kind of trouble we could get ourselves into if God always granted all our prayer requests. We need to be thankful that he's a God of "no". "No" can be your best friend. The word "no" has been a best friend to many people. Many people have avoided untold heartache and sorrow when told "no". Some people have refused to accept "no" for an answer. As a result, they've paid a huge price. They have become miserable people because they wouldn't accept what was God's will for their lives. Even though we may not recognize it at the time, we must always recognize God always has our best interests in mind. We must learn to trust Him even when things don't make sense. If we learn to trust and obey, life will be much more peaceful for the child of God. What we need to do is remember what God said in Romans 8:28. If we will memorize that verse and put it into our hearts, it will help us and comfort us when we don't understand why God's answer sometimes is "no."
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