We’ve all been there, haven’t we? Our requests of God are good. They are godly. They aren’t selfish. Still, sometimes God says no, or not yet.

Several times in the Apostle Paul’s life he received a no, or not yet from God. He longed to visit Rome to preach and see how the church was doing. His request was for godly purposes. It wasn’t selfish. But God told Paul no, not yet.

Eventually Paul did go to Rome. He went as a prisoner in chains near the end of his life. He was executed there. Even though he didn’t go to Rome as he thought he would, Paul preached where God put him.

In my life there are unanswered prayers I will never understand the reason for until I reach heaven. There are some unanswered requests I later said, “Thank you, Jesus for not answering that request.”

There are also prayer requests I feel are stacked up like airplanes on the tarmac waiting to take off. Waiting to move past God’s no, not yet.

Perhaps you have similar experiences.

As I consider this, I wonder if maybe God tells us no, or not yet because we are not the one he tapped to accomplish what we’re praying to accomplish. If we find that to be the case, I’m thinking at the point we come to that realization, our prayers should shift toward praying for those God did tap.

Could it be when God tells us no, or not yet he has something else mo’ better planned instead? How many times have we prayed for a certain job position or relationship, not gotten it, and found what God does provide for us fits better than what we desired?

Who knows? God may be working on us to change our heart, to draw us closer to him, or prepare us for what lies ahead when he says no, or not yet.

Since we don’t know if our unanswered prayers will result in a no, or not yet let’s follow Paul’s example and pray without ceasing.

How do you handle your unanswered prayers?

Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the subject. If you think others would appreciate reading this, please share it through the social media buttons.

Please don’t misinterpret my failure to visit you, friends. You have no idea how many times I’ve made plans for Rome. I’ve been determined to get some personal enjoyment out of God’s work among you, as I have in so many other non-Jewish towns and communities. But something has always come up and prevented it. Romans 1:13 (MSG)

You can find my November Inspire a Fire post here. Please stop by and read it.

I wish you well.

Sandy

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