“Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.” (1 John 3:21–22 NLT)

 

God answers every prayer. That’s important to understand. Some people say, “I’ve been asking God to grant my request for years, but He still hasn’t answered me.” Chances are, He has answered. And His answer is no.

No is as much of an answer as yes. It’s just not the answer we want. Here’s something to keep in mind: If the request is wrong, God says, “No.” If the timing is wrong, God says, “Slow.” If we are wrong, God says, “Grow.” But if the request is right, the timing is right, and we are right, God says, “Go.”

One of the amazing things you discover as you grow in the Lord is that some of your greatest answered prayers are those to which God said no. With a little spiritual maturity, you realize that what you wanted so desperately was the worst thing that possibly could have happened to you.

That raises an obvious question. What can we do to receive yes answers to our prayer requests? Let’s look at what God’s Word says.

“And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for” (1 John 5:14–15 NLT).

“You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:13–14 NLT).

Ask for anything that pleases Him. Ask for anything in His name. Those are the quickest ways to get a yes from God. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He gave them these words: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10 ESV).

And when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane just before His arrest and crucifixion, He said, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine!” (Matthew 26:39 NLT). You can never go wrong when you pray for God’s will to be done.

That may seem like legal fine print in a too-good-to-be-true offer: “God will give you anything you ask for! (As long as you ask for what He wants to give you.)” But it’s something much deeper than that. It’s God’s way of making sure that our will and our priorities align with His. If they do, the sky’s the limit where our prayer requests are concerned. If they don’t, we need to make some adjustments.

So, all our prayers should contain this spoken or unspoken sentiment: “Lord, here’s the way I see things with my limited understanding. I think You should do this. If I’m asking for something outside Your will, I ask You to overrule my request. You know all things, so I ask for Your will to be done.”

 

Reflection question: When has God said no to you? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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