Release Date: October 21st, 2026When God Says NO
- by Craig Frere
God ALWAYS answers our prayers. When I was growing up in church, that is one of the things I remember being taught in Sunday School or at youth group. That conversation was then followed up with the qualifier that God doesn’t always answer them with a “yes”. We would talk about how sometimes God answers with a “no” if my prayer is a selfish one or if it doesn’t line up with God’s plans and purposes. We would also talk about how God sometimes answers our prayers with a “not yet” when our timeline doesn’t quite lineup with God’s. While that answer is a bit simplistic, at the time, I still found it satisfying – and sometimes I still do.
What do we do when God seems to say no to our prayers and we struggle through pain and doubt and discouragement in that space?
But what about when God just seems to say “no”. Or when God’s “not yet” feels like a “no” or at least like silence? What do I do when I or someone I care about is facing an illness and I pray for God’s healing but it doesn’t happen? What do I do when there is a particular job that I really want and I pray for God to provide it for me but then the job goes to someone else? What do I do when I am struggling in a particular relationship with someone and I pray for God to somehow bring peace and understanding and reconciliation to that relationship but it just doesn’t seem to be happening?
First, I anchor myself in who God is. God’s goodness doesn’t depend on my answer.
This is the reality for all of us who as human beings are living in the in-between place – a world that is not yet what it will one day be. What do we do when God seems to say no to our prayers and we struggle through pain and doubt and discouragement in that space?
Second, I don’t wait alone... We need each other.
Whenever I find myself in that space, I find two things incredibly helpful. First, I anchor myself in who God is. God’s goodness doesn’t depend on my answer. I may not understand why my prayer and God’s plan don’t line up, but I can trust that God is good and is working for good in every situation. Second, I don’t wait alone. I need others to help remind me, to listen to me in my time of need, and to lend me their strength during these times. I can’t do it on my own nor does God expect me to. We need each other.
In Psalm 27: 13-14, David writes: “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” David’s words encourage me that even when I am in the middle of the storm, God is still good and as I wait and trust, God’s goodness will be revealed in God’s way and in God’s time.
- Craig Frere is interim pastor at Valleyview Mennonite Church