We have lots of reasons and lots of occasions to pray:
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We pray to give thanks to God for who he is and what he has done.
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We pray for forgiveness when we know we have sinned against God and others.
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We pray when we are feeling anxious about tomorrow and what it holds.
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We pray for our own sake and the sake of others when we are in need.
The list could go on, but the point is clear—there is always, always, always a reason to pray. No wonder the Bible tells us to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). But even though we have every reason to pray, all of us have prayed for something to happen—someone to get well, some provision to be made, some circumstance to change—and nothing happens. In fact, sometimes the situation we are praying about seems to get worse. So even though we are in great need of something, and even though we are convinced God loves and provides for us, and even though we bring that need to God in prayer, it seems like his answer is, “No.”
That’s a difficult thing. It’s especially difficult in light of verses like this:
“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (Matt. 21:22).
It seems like, based on that verse, that all those “no’s” we seem to get ought to be “yes’s.” How do we reconcile that? Well, there are all kinds of ways, but perhaps a good summary understanding might be something like this:
God’s answer is “yes” even when it’s “no.”
Now that seems like a contradictory statement, doesn’t it? How can God’s answer be “yes” when God’s answer is “no”? Or to put it another way, how can God be answering our prayers even when it seems like nothing at all is changing in the circumstance about which we are praying?
We can understand and accept that contradiction when we start to think a little more about God’s overall will and purposes in our lives. It might help to think about it from the standpoint of a parent. If you’re a parent, you know that your children ask you for all kinds of things. Some of them are good things, and some are less good things. Part of being a parent is being able to look a little further and a little deeper than your child and answering them not just based on what they want, but on what you know is best for them.
So, for example, your child might come to you and ask for candy. You might give them candy because it’s a Saturday, or because they haven’t had any sugar that day, or because you just want to because you want to make them happy. But you might not give them what they ask for because you know the candy they asked for has nuts in it, and if they ate it, you’d be making a quick trip to the emergency room.
You know that. Your child does not. So while you answer is “no” to their request for that kind of candy, it is “yes” to their overall health and well-being. If we, as imperfect parents are doing the best we can to do what is best for our children, how much more is our perfect Father who knows all things committed to doing what is best for us?
God’s answer to us is “yes” even when, from our limited perspective, it feels like “no”:
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His answer is “yes” to your soul even if it’s “no” to your feelings.
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His answer is “yes” to your good even if it’s “no” to your ease.
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His answer is “yes” to your character and holiness even when it’s “no” to your comfort.
So keep praying, children of God. But as we pray, let’s pray with confidence in our Father who knows what is right and best. Let’s pray with a greater confidence in him than in our own ability to diagnose the “yes” we really need.
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This article originally appeared on thinke.org and is reposted here by permission.