Thank God for Unanswered Prayers!
I am so glad that God will overrule my prayers at times, because I have prayed for things fervently, believing they were the will of God, and they were flat-out wrong. I am so thankful that God said no to those prayers.
Thy Will Be Done.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, as the cross was getting closer, Jesus prayed to the Father: “And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.'” (Luke 22:41–42 NKJV)
Yet I have actually heard some people say, “Never pray, ‘Not my will, but Yours be done.’ That is a lack of faith.” Some have even said, “What you should really pray is, ‘Not Your will, but mine be done.’”
Let’s just say that I don’t want to be standing too close to those people when lightning strikes, because they have things turned around.
Never be afraid to pray, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” By saying that, you are simply saying, “Lord, I don’t know all the facts. I don’t know everything there is to know. My knowledge is limited. My experience is limited. So if what I am praying is outside of Your will for any reason, please graciously overrule it.” You won’t always understand how you should pray. What it comes down to is telling God that you want His will more than your own.
God Knows Best
I know this is hard at times. Sometimes you don’t understand why God doesn’t give you what you ask for. When you’re young and single, you may see a handsome guy or beautiful girl and just know that person is the one for you, but it turns out they aren’t. Or you may be convinced that job is the right one for you, and you don’t end up hired. . .
As the lyrics to a country song say, “Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers.”
As time passes, you will look back with 20/20 hindsight, and you will say, “Thank God He did not answer my prayers.” Or, “Thank God He answered my prayers,” whichever the case may be. The point is that God knows best, and we want Him to answer our prayers as He wishes, not how we wish.
Have you ever forced something to happen? Maybe you even felt that God was saying no to it. You remember how that turned out. . .
Finally, I want to remind you of the words of Jesus and encourage you to remember them: “‘. . .Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need'” (Matthew 6:32-33 NLT).
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Learn more about Pastor Greg Laurie
