1. Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?
– adapted from article by Sue Bohlin and inspired by a message by Pete Grieg
1. Sinin our lives.
Confessandrepent!
The psalmistwrote,"If Ihad cherished sin in my heart,the LORD would nothave listened" (Ps.66:18). Notthat
God isunable to hear,forHe is omniscient,butthatHe maintainsHisdistance whenwe allow sintobe a wall
betweenus.
Major disobedience setsusupforlong-termunansweredprayer: “Butyouriniquities havemadea separation
between you and yourGod and yoursins havehidden his facefromyou so thatHe doesnot hear.” (Isaiah 59:2)
A lovingGodis incontrol!
2. To say yeswould bringus harm we don'tforesee.
Justlike a parentsayingnoto their children.Goddoesn’tallow somethingbecause He knowsit’snotforourgood.
Prayingto date Shaune incollege.Goddideventuallyrelent,butatgreat painto me.
A lovingGodis incontrol!
3. Because God givesmenand women free will.
Divorce,abuse,lovedoneswhomightdie withoutJesus.
A lovingGodis incontrol!
4. Godhas somethingfar greaterin store for us.
Mary andMartha wantedJesustoheal Lazarus,but He hadresurrectioninmind. (John 11)
We askfor health,butoftensicknessandsufferingorsomethinglessthanwealthisthe bestwaytoproduce
holinessandmaturityinus.
Lookingforlotsof jobsbefore Igot a jobat Tallowood.
A lovingGodis incontrol!
5. We pray the opposite prayer of someone else orfor things that have already happened.
• TwoChristiansonopposingteams,prayingfortheirteamtowin.
• TwoChristiansapplyingforthe same job.
• Prayingfora boy or girl that's alreadybeenconceived.
God has to say "no"to one to say "yes"to the other. Itis Hisbestfor both of them, forone the bestis“yes,”but
for anotherperson,the bestis“no.”
A lovingGodis incontrol!
6. We getdiscouraged inprayer by thinking Godhas said no whenin fact He is simplywaiting.
"Wait"is an answer.God’sdelayisnotGod’s denial.
God oftendelaysHisanswertocultivate patienceandpersistence,andbuildourfaith.
Or to bringour will aroundtoconformto His own. Or justbecause it’snotthe right time yet!
JesusislivingwithanunansweredprayerHimself! John 17:20-21, “I pray also for thosewho will believe in me
through theirmessage, 21
thatall of themmay be one,Father,justas you are in me and I amin you.May they also
be in us so thatthe world may believe thatyou havesentme.”
A lovingGodis incontrol!
7. God's"No" isnot rejection,but redirection
God's "no" to one thingisa "yes"to another.
2 Sam 7 - God said"no" to David'sdesire tobuildatemple.
Get this! If God says “no” to one opportunitythatyouhave prayedfor,there isa reason. He has somethingelse
plannedforyou! God said“no” to Israel,butHe said“yes”to me stayingatTallowood,leadingPrayerMinistry
and marryingthe man of my dreams!I askedforGod to sendme a husbandfora verylongtime (andso didmany
othergodlypeople!),butGodsaid "no"so that He couldsay "yes"ingivingme Ken,andI’mso grateful!
Paul’smissionary journeys“Pauland hiscompanionstraveled throughouttheregion of Phrygia and Galatia,

2. having been keptby theHoly Spirit frompreaching theword in the provinceof Asia. When they cameto the border
of Mysia,they tried to enter Bithynia,butthe Spirit of Jesuswould notallow them to.So they passed by Mysia and
wentdown to Troas. During the nightPaulhad a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begginghim,“Come
overto Macedonia and help us.”After Paulhad seen thevision,we gotready at once to leavefor Macedonia,
concluding thatGod had called usto preach the gospelto them.”(Acts16:6-10)
Get this! If God says “no” to one opportunitythatyouhave prayedfor,there isa reason. He has somethingelse
plannedforyou! God said“no” to Israel,butHe said“yes”to me stayingatTallowood,leadingPrayerMinistry
and marryingthe man of my dreams!I askedforGod to sendme a husbandfora verylongtime (andso didmany
othergodlypeople!),butGodsaid"no"so that He couldsay "yes"ingivingme Ken,andI’mso grateful!
A lovingGodis incontrol!
8. God's"no" isn'tpunishment,itis preparation
Rom5:2a-5 - "And werejoice in thehopeof theglory of God.Not only so,butwe also rejoice in oursufferings,
becausewe knowthatsuffering producesperseverance;perseverance,character;and character,hope.Andhope
doesnotdisappointus,becauseGod haspoured outHis love into ourheartsby the Holy Spirit,whomHe hasgiven
us.”
God ispreparingusto be HisSon's bride.We will reignwithHim;we mustbe made intoa bride worthyof our
position.He developsperseverance,character,andhope as we trustHim inprayer.
The Apostle Paul – asked3 timesforthe thorn to be removedfromhisflesh.Godsaid,“no.” “If I wanted to boast,
I would be no foolin doing so,becauseIwould be telling the truth.But I won’tdo it, becauseI don’twantanyone
to give mecredit beyond whatthey can see in my life or hearin my message, even though Ihavereceived such
wonderfulrevelationsfromGod. So to keep me frombecoming proud,Iwasgiven a thorn in my flesh,a messenger
fromSatan to tormentme and keep mefrombecoming proud. Threedifferenttimes I begged theLord to takeit
away. Each time he said,“My graceis all you need.My powerworksbestin weakness.”So now Iam glad to boast
aboutmy weaknesses,so thatthepowerof Christ can workthrough me. That’swhy I takepleasurein my
weaknesses,and in theinsults,hardships,persecutions,and troublesthatIsufferforChrist.Forwhen I amweak,
then I am strong.”(2Corinthians12:6-10)
A lovingGodis incontrol!
9. God's"No" will sometimesbringgreaterglory to God and greater adventure for us!
Prayingto be healedorgoodhealthreports,Godhad a biggerhealinginstore forme, He wantedtouse the
surgeryto REALLY heal me! God lovestomake the story better – church plantingincubatorinKilleen,construction
trouble.
Elijah, 1 Kings19. He prayedthat he mightdie."Ihave had enough,Lord,"he said."Take my life.Iam nobetter
than myancestors."God said"no"because He hadan adventure plannedforElijah!
2 Kings2:11, "Suddenlyachariotof fire andhorsesof fire appearedandseparatedthe twoof them, andElijah
wentupto heavenina whirlwind.Elishasawthisandcriedout.'My father!My father!The chariotsand
horsemenof Israel!'AndElishasawhimnomore."
AnotherreasonGodsaidno to marriage whenI wasyoungerisbecause he hadadventuresfor me to fulfillasa
single woman!
A lovingGodis incontrol!