We might be surprised how many different answers we would hear to this question. Yet, it seems to go without saying that if God is our Father and we have been reared by earthly parents who did not always give us what we ask, we would never question whether they love us. Equally obvious is that no child would disown his or her parents because they didn’t give them what they asked. The question that is asked by a child when a parent says, “No” or “Not now” is “why”? I never asked my parents that question because if they wanted me to know why, they would have told me. I knew there had to be a good reason but I rarely knew it. We can apply this same attitude when God says, “No” to us. Similarly, I don’t need to know the reason. I just need to know that he knows what’s best.
Sometimes, the answer is that the request serves no real purpose or God has a plan or purpose that is counterproductive or in conflict with the request. Habakkuk, the prophet how long would he have to cry before God hears him (Hab. 1:2-4). He was disturbed by the deplorable condition of Judah and why God will not do something about it. God told him that he was aware of their condition and that He was doing something about it. Two things stand out concerning what God was doing that may play out in our lives, also. First, what God is doing is not so obvious to us in the early stages. Second, if we knew, we would be surprised. God told Habakkuk that if He told him, he would not believe it (Hab. 1:5-6)). God explains that he has chosen the Chaldeans to become an instrument of His judgment. A good example is the political and moral condition of our country. The leaders of our nation disturb us by their policies and the direction they are taking this country. While we are praying for a change in leadership and a return to the land that we once knew and was proud to claim as our own, God may have already determined to set this country on the path to destruction. We pray and pray but the condition may be getting worse instead of better. We may be asking, “Do you hear me, Lord?” However we may feel, we know that He hears and that he is aware of your concerns and that He cares about them. But, there’s more at work of which we are unaware.
In the following days, we will explore reasons why God may say “No, “Not now,” or why He may not hear us at all. Once we have a better understanding of what the Bible says about the reasons over which we may have some control.