Dated:  10/14/2021

This is a continuation of the blog post called –  When God says Wait, or No – Part 1. In that blog God led me to start the conversation regarding how to deal with Him giving us a No or Wait answer to our prayers.  I indicated that the starting point to any type of answer from God is rooted in love and has at the heart of it, our best interest. I also gave examples of where God would have given me wait or no answers and in the end it turned out for His Glory and my good. In continuing with this topic, I would like to explore reasons why God would give a no or wait response or how can we improve on getting a yes.

  1. Don’t pray to get a verbal Yes, where God has already mandated a scriptural No.

God’s word indicates that we can at times pray amiss because we ask for things with the wrong motives. This ignorance in prayer, can also extend to asking for things which the father has already scripted a no towards. For example, His words state that we as believers should not be  unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). There are many views on what this passage truly means, but I subscribe to the view that believers should not be yoked with unbelievers especially from a dating standpoint.

So, if God has already given a scriptural no, why would we be dating an unbeliever with the aim of marriage and seeking His face for a yes. God has already given a scriptural No! In His love, He has indicated no for a reason, so no matter how many yeses we might plead, the answer will always be no.

Based on this, what we have to do my friends is ensure that our verbal lines up with the scriptural. God’s word and will is already so powerful, can you imagine what would happen if our words and will lines up with His? The amount of good things that would come into our lives, we would truly be bountifully blessed.

2. God Blesses Prayer and God Blesses Principle

Our Heavenly Father is a God that cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18, Numbers 23:19). I want to repeat this again, God cannot lie. When God gives us a biblical principle and we do not do it, how can we expect to break it and get a yes in a prayer request that relates to it? One such principle, is the principle of tithing as found in Malachi 3:10. In this principle, God states that He will directly intervene and stop the devil from devouring our wealth and conversely give us a floodgate of blessings.  Yes you heard correctly, a floodgate of new blessings while what we already possess does not diminish. All this comes from applying the principle of tithing.

Consequently, if we are not tithing, the devil has greater liberty to target and access our assets. So, here we are as non-tithers, praying a yes for wealth, success, increase and abundance, but God has to honour His word and watch over it to perform it. Therefore, expect the devourer to come in and eat up what you have worked so hard to achieve. Knowing this, my recommendation for us is to apply prayer but never neglect the principles. Always remember, “Godly principle triumphs personal prayer”.

3. Learn to improve the quality of your asking.

I observe that civilization has been setup in a hierarchical manner, meaning everyone has to ask something of someone else to attain their goals – isn’t this interesting? The more I understand this, is the more I give deep thought regarding when to ask, how to craft my request in asking and examining what are my real motives for asking. All this is done because I want to make sure I get a yes after I make my request. The same applies to asking God especially when it comes to our motives.

Have you ever asked God for a promotion on your job? Well, I have and it was not for Him to get the Glory. It was for my own selfish desire to move up in life and get a better position on the corporate ladder and by extension a better salary. I was praying for a yes response for me, me and me. No wonder we might be getting so many noes from God, because there is no Glory to His name in our asking.

But if I come before Him and say Lord, “ I am already working hard for my employer and doing it as you indicated as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23-24). Lord help me to get this promotion so that I can tithe more, Lord let this promotion come my way so that I can have more money to give to the needy. Lord, ethics and values are lacking in high office, allow me to get promoted so that Godly decision making can take place at the highest echelons.

When God’s glory is at the centre of all our asking then the chances of Him saying no is greatly reduced. This is when the scripture that says that God will give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4) really comes to fruition. When our desires line up with Godly desires in our asking. I close this section by saying, “If we can improve in our asking, we can improve in our getting”.  A good way to improve your asking is to ensure others can also get blessed from your prayers. As Pastor Tim Rutledge would say:

“If God answered the prayers you’ve been praying, would it change anyone else’s world but your own”

4. A wise Father does not give a gift too soon.

I had a Christian friend who always spoke about getting into business and owning his own company. He often spoke to me about his ideas and desire to do this and I would listen and provide my professional advice. However, I would often leave the conversation thinking that he is already missing church a lot (Hebrews 10:25) so why would God make him a business owner (something which takes up time) when at present he is mismanaging His godly time already. Its a case of the mismanagement of less, but we are bold enough to come before God and prayer for more with the hope of a yes.

I believe that this is a major reason we get so many no’s from God, we have not shown ourselves faithful in the little things first. As Luke 16:10 indicates,  “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…”. If we are not faithful in the little things God has given us a yes with, then in the bigger things we will always get a no.

Not only this, but God knows we are not ready for a blessing of a yes. This was clearly seen in the story of the Prodigal Son. The Father gave the son the blessing to soon. The earthly father was filled with love, but he was not filled with wisdom. Therefore, I am glad that our Heavenly Father has all Love and all wisdom in His decision making towards us.

“Proverbs 20:21 (NIV) An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end.”

This has me thinking that “God’s no is always better than man’s yes” and “God’s giving is not based on earthly time but on heavenly timing.”

Conclusion:

There are many other things we can speak about in relation to this topic like sin for example (purposely left out because I thought this was a given) which disconnects us and nullifies the effectiveness of our prayer. But for brevity I would close off this blog series at this juncture. I pray that my few words blessed and encourage your heart and in some way provided a better understanding of how to gain a yes in your prayer request to God.

I close with one of my favorite quotes from Bill Hybels:

PS: Dane Miller was last seen praying and asking God if he should do a part 3 in this series?

Update: Well God answered the pray to part 3, see When Gods says No or Wait – Part 3

Your Brother in the Lord,

Dane Miller | Author

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