When God’s answer is no...

I’m certain we’ve all experienced moments where it seemed like God did the exact opposite of what we requested in prayer. Trust me, I’ve been there. Have you ever announced to your loved one’s doctor that you will trust God for their healing? Did you proceed to pray and fast in hopes their situation would improve, but instead they got worse or died? Have you prayed for your marriage to work, but it ended in divorce? Have you ever prayed to have a baby, but miscarried each time? Some might question whether they did something wrong, if God still loves them or if God is punishing us for some sin; nevertheless, what should we do as Christians when God’s answer is “no”?

Throughout my Christian walk, I am often compelled to pray for the sick. During those times I thought God would certainly heal them, but He didn’t, or that’s how it seemed. I remember the day when my friend who is a nurse told me about her patient who had stomach cancer. While spending time praying that God would heal her, the Lord impressed on my heart to go visit her in the hospital. I didn’t know this young lady personally, but only heard of her through my friend. I mentioned to my friend I wanted to visit her patient, but after speaking with the parents, I was told they did not want anyone seeing their daughter.

I didn’t let that stop me, but continued praying. One day, the Lord led me to read a scripture from Ezekiel 3:18 which says:

“When I say to a wicked person, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.”

I called my Pastor out of fear and shared the verse with him, in which he replied, “there’s a saying, ‘if you can’t talk to the Jews about Jesus, then talk to Jesus about the Jews’”. Which meant, if I couldn’t talk to her about Jesus, then talk to Jesus about her, and that’s exactly what I did. One day, my friend agreed to visit the patient and requested that I come along. Thankfully, the mother agreed! While visiting with her that morning, we had the opportunity to pray, share John 3:16, and invite her to put her faith in Jesus, which she gladly did without hesitation. I was so thankful that God provided the opportunity for us to meet with her and share the gospel despite her ailing condition. It seemed like uphill from that point on! She put her faith in Christ and I was certain she would be healed from her condition. About two weeks later, she passed away.

I was so distraught. Why didn’t God honour our prayer offered in faith? One day I was arrogant in asking the Lord why He didn’t heal the young lady. Why have us go through all that trouble just to take her life? I then heard a soft whisper which said, “who told you I didn’t heal her? I didn’t heal her physically, but spiritually”. A sudden peace came over me as I was reminded that her soul is more valuable than her mortal body. She wasn’t physically healed from her cancer, but she was spiritually healed from the curse of her sin, how could I not rejoice? My own sinful heart prevented me from seeing the beautiful work God did in her life and how he saved her from eternal damnation. From then onward, I received many opportunities to pray for those with terminal illnesses, and although they succumbed to their illness, they were healed spiritually. The beauty about spiritual healing is the doctors cannot take any credit, there is only ONE who can receive the glory for healing our spirits, and that is the LORD.

At times we may pray for loved ones who are sick, but God may not grant us our request. I’ve had people ask me why God didn’t heal their loved ones, and their confusion ultimately turned into anger toward God. I used to battle with those questions as well, but I learned that God is sovereign and does as He pleases. We must remember that everything God does is wrapped in goodness and He always has our best interest in mind. Always. We often fail to remember that we are limited, finite beings that serve a limitless and infinite God who knows ALL things. Who are we to question His decisions? Sometimes the very things we ask for in prayer might lead to our destruction, and that’s why we ought to trust Him. We must realize that even when God answers “no”, it is out of love for us, and we must remember that “no” is also an answer.

As I look back at my life, there are many prayers God did not answer the way I desired, and today, I’m grateful He loved me enough to say “no” to things I thought were beneficial. I am constantly reminded to trust God in the uncertain and dreadful moments, knowing He is working everything out for our good and His glory.