Is it possible for God to say “No” to His child’s request? When He is the almighty and every power and ability to do anything belongs to Him, can He really say no? Yes! I suppose, He can say no to our requests some times. You might have contrary opinion but let us go together through this write-up and find out if actually He can say no at times.
I believe that so many reasons can make God to say no to our prayer requests, ranging from the ones that are beyond our control to the ones we can actually control in order to get “yes” as an answer. Some personalities in the bible made requests to the Almighty and got “no” as an answer even though they were very close to Him. For the fact that He says no doesn’t mean He hates or wants to hurt us, rather, it might be that;
1. We are praying amiss.
2. It is not yet time for what we are asking.
3. The request might not be good for us.
4. We might not be able to handle the result at the moment.
5. God wants to handle some things in our lives first.
Having gotten the clue of some of the things that might make us to get no as an answer, let us evaluate them one after the other and see how we can be able to control the ones we can in order to change the situation of things. I believe that this will go a long way in fixing our minds right, because, some people are offended when they get “no” as an answer. But that shouldn’t be the case because, if we get annoyed it doesn’t change anything. The best attitude is to get to know those areas that are within our control and make necessary adjustment and leave others for Him.
Praying amiss means praying incorrectly or in the wrong way. Some times, when we pray, we are praying to get the answer in order to show off. Take an instance of someone praying to be wealthy in order to show his uncle that refused to train him that he has arrived. Even though, it is good to be wealthy and it pleases God to make us rich but He weighs the motive behind our requests. A secondary school child that is praying to win the forth-coming presidential election is also praying amiss because, he is not even qualified to contest, talk more of winning the election. So I believe, that God will say capital NO, to such request. There was a time I was praying in primary school days and my prayer topic was “God, please change me from being a girl to a boy”. I was seriously waiting and believing God for an answer because I had the faith that He can answer anything we table before him. Lo and behold, months passed, years passed and nothing happened. I was greatly disappointed as a child, but that, I believe did not bother God because, I prayed amiss. I don’t know if there is any way you are still praying amiss and is making God to say no to your request, you can evaluate it today, re-arrange your heart and bring back your supplication to HIM.
God can tell us no when it is not yet time for us to get what we are asking or when we cannot handle it. No, in this case doesn’t mean that God will not grant it, rather we are asking for it too early. So all we need to do is to be patient and wait for the appointed time. Take for instance, a pure water retailer asking God to bless him/her with a Jeep. If that Jeep comes, can he be able to maintain it? We need to be wise.
God says no, when the request is not good for us. At a time, the Israelites were seriously asking for king and it wasn’t the order in those days for them to have kings but judges. (1 Sam 8: 4-97) God knew that such request is not good for them but they kept on asking, eventually, He allowed them to have the king and live to bear the consequences. When God sees that a particular request isn’t ok for us, he tells us no, because He sees the future, we don’t. But because of our nature we find it difficult to take no as an answer and in such case God can allow us to have what we want and it becomes His permissive will. Whatsoever that comes out of it, He allows us to carry the cross because we bargained for it. I heard of a man of God that lost his son at Enugu, he prayed, pleading that God restores his son but the son refused to wake up and the man refused to take no as an answer, he persisted to the extent of going with the child. Eventually, the child woke up and everyone praised God. And he grew up to become a thorn in the father’s flesh.
Samuel was sent on a mission by God to anoint someone as a king after Saul. It pleased the man of God (Samuel) to anoint a young man (Eliab) that had all the physique that was needed but God said no to his request.(1 Sam. 16:7). To Samuel what he wanted to do was very much ok, but God that sees ahead of us told him no, and he readily accepted that.
Do you know that David fasted and prayed for a week just for his sick son to recover? (2 Samuel 12: 16-23). The bible said that he refused to eat and every night he went into his room and lied down on the floor. He was praying hoping that his sick child will be healed and eventually, the child died after one week, despite his prayers and abstinence from food. There is one thing I like about this man’s attitude. Immediately the child died, he rose and worshipped God and then ate his food. Although, it is not easy per se, it takes God’s grace indeed.
Jesus our perfect example, tabled a request before God that was not granted. This might be difficult to believe but it happened. Read Mathew 26:42. The bible said that Jesus prayed for the cup to pass away. His desire at the moment was that the death be shifted but God did not approve of that request because He knows that if such request is granted, it would be disastrous for me and you. So God’s answer to Jesus was “no”. Can you beat that? If He can say “no” to His only begotten because He knows the end result of saying “yes” can be disastrous, who are we then?
Has it ever come to your mind that God can say no to our requests some time in order to deal with some things in our lives. Take the case of someone that is asking for the baptism of the Holy Spirit for example, but the person is not willing to yield his/her life to God fully. I believe that God will say no to such request and first of all work in the person’s life to make it fit for the in-filling of the Holy Spirit.
In any case, remember, divine delay is not divine denial. For the fact that God said no today does not mean that he doesn’t actually want to give us what we are asking for. But I believe it is an avenue for us to put our heads down, and find out if there is any adjustment we need to make in our mode of presenting our case to the Most High. Everything that bothers us bothers Him too. So relax in His arms.
He cares.
