If there is one thing that is difficult for me is when I ask God for something and I don’t get it.
Spoiled much? Yes, maybe a little.
Although I have matured in this area over the years, it still isn’t easy to take when God says no.
We are told to pray and believe but sometimes that isn’t enough. The reality is that we can’t make God do anything. He is God - not our own personal genie. He’s not waiting to answer our demands. He’s also not mean either.
I don’t always understand why God doesn’t answer our prayers. There have been times I thought the answer was a sure thing but then when it wasn't I was thrown for a loop. Many times I don’t know until years later when I can look back. There are also times when I still don’t know why God’s answer was totally opposite of what I asked.
God can do whatever he wants how he wants to do it. He doesn’t need my approval. Sometimes I try to figure things out for God and help him in answering my prayer. He doesn’t really need my help. I am reminded of when Job questioned God about what he was going through and God responded in Job 38 by starting with "where were you when I created the Earth?" and God continued with his rebuke of Job's complaint.
I must admit that I can’t fully explain Gods ways but I do know that He loves us. He sees the bigger picture. We can't. He isn't obligated to share with us what He's doing or why He's doing it. What we don't understand is how everything is interconnected. What happens in our lives affects something or someone else. That's pretty deep but we can't possibly know what decisions impact the world around us. God knows and sometimes His refusal isn't because He's being mean, it is because He knows best.
I still don't like it but what can you and I do about it?
In my immaturity and youth I would get mad at God and fuss at Him when He didn't answer my prayer the way I wanted. Seriously? Fuss at God? That's not going to get anywhere I can assure you. We aren't going to manipulate God by our pouting.
I remember in my younger days and my immaturity of a very hard lesson I learned about unanswered prayers. There were two sisters from our church who were killed in a tragic automobile accident. I was devastated. I prayed vigorously that God would raise them from the dead. I mean since He did it for Lazarus and had the ability to do it, surely I thought He could for that situation. Obviously, I was naïve and when He didn't answer my prayer, I was hurt and confused. I never thought about the fact that even when He raised Lazarus from the dead that eventually Lazarus would have to die again. To die twice would stink wouldn't it?
Like or not, God is in control even if it doesn't seem like He is or when we think we know what is best. We don't. We have to take what happens and trust He is working out for a better purpose. Do I like that answer? No. It's an answer I don't always like. God answers prayers but He does it in His own time and not always in the way we ask. Just because we get frustrated with why God doesn't answer our prayers doesn't me He never does. We simply have to get the right mindset about it. When God doesn't answer prayers the way we had hoped, it's up to us to trust that God still loves us and His way is always best and we need to trust in the way He works in our lives.
