Freedom River Church Sunday Message 12/16/18
Channel: Freedom River Church
Date: 2018-12-17

Why Hasn’t God Answered My Prayer?                        Job 30:20

To many people, prayer is a confusing thing. Their thoughts of prayer are more akin to rubbing a magic lamp than petitioning a holy God. It’s as if God is like a big genie that exists to serve our wishes and respond to our commands. Of course, when we don’t get what we pray for, we assume that God didn’t answer our prayer. However, according to the Scriptures, God always answers our prayers. Jeremiah, the prophet, gives us some insight to prayer when he is told by God, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show
you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3) The truth is – God answers prayer in three ways: (1) Sometimes God says, “Yes.” (2) Sometimes God says, “Wait.” (3) Sometimes God says, “No.” Why does God say no?

Three Reasons God Sometimes Says “No”

1. When He has a bigger ______________________________.
God has a broader viewpoint than we do. He sees a bigger picture. Many times God says “no” in order to protect us.

2. When He has a better _______________.
Often God wants to fulfill our desires, but He wants to do it in a different way than we have in mind. God is not limited to our way of doing things. Our problem is that we enter most prayer requests with a preconceived idea of what we want done, which is generally
a path that is the least painful for us. God sometimes says no, not to us, but to OUR plans.

3. When He has a greater ______________________.
God isn’t obligated to explain to us everything He does. According to Ecclesiastes 3, God has a purpose for all that He does or allows. This includes problems, trials, and saying “no.”

What to Remember When God Says “No”

1. Everything God does is done from ___________________. Romans 8:28

2. God always gives us _____________ when He says “no.” II Corinthians 12:7-9


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