When God says no

Can you accept God's will when His answer is no? If you pray according to God's will, He will answer your prayer (1 John 5:14). However, sometimes His answer will be no.

King Herod arrested Peter and prepared to have him executed. During the night, as the church prayed (Acts 12:6), Peter’s life was spared when an angel freed him (Acts 12:7-9). God miraculously answered the prayers of Christians that night. Yet not long before, James, too, had been arrested by Herod. James, however, was executed (Acts 12:2). Surely the church had prayed for James as fervently as they did for Peter, yet that time God’s answer had been no.

Did God love Peter more than James? Of course not. James had been one of Jesus' closest friends. Yet God allowed James to die while He continued to use Peter. The church in Jerusalem did not become bitter toward God. They accepted His answer because they trusted His wisdom and purpose.

There are times when God wants us to persist in our praying (Luke 11:5-8; 18:1-6). However, when God's answer is no, it is vanity to continue asking for a "yes" answer. Some refuse to take no for an answer, insisting that if you pray long enough and hard enough, God will ultimately grant any request you make. It is offensive to God to continue pleading with Him when He has clearly said no. The purpose of prayer is not to conform God to our will but to change our will to God. We must learn to trust God so that if He says no, we accept that His will is best (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:9).

Adapted from Henry Blackaby