God always answers prayers.

• When our request is wrong God says “no”.
• When the timing of our request is wrong God says “wait”.
• When we are not right with God, God says “grow”.
• When the request is right, the timing is right, and we are right with God, God says “yes”!

Finally! Finally we get a “yes”.

God not only answers prayers but God loves to answer our prayers.

James 1:17 tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

John 14:13-14 tells us, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Not only does God answer prayers but he is glorified when he answers prayers. The key is the phrase “ask in my name.” When we ask of God in his name it means to ask of him things that are confusing with God’s will. It assumes that the request is right, the timing is right, and that we are right with God.

Because God is sovereign and God is good, God has not only the right but the obligation to say no to prayers that are wrong, “wait” when the timing is wrong, and “grow” when we are wrong. But when these things are right, God absolutely sights to answer our prayers in the affirmative.

Thank you God for being such an amazing and awesome God! Thank you for always answering prayers. Thank you for loving us and wanting only what is best for us. Amen!

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

God always answers prayer.

• If our request is wrong, God says, “No.”
• If the timing is wrong, God says, “Wait.”
• If you are wrong, God says, “Grow.”

There are times when the request and the timing of our prayers may be right, but when we are in the wrong, God tells us to “grow.” Grow up in the faith. Grow so that God can answer our prayers in the affirmative.

When we are living in sin, when we are refusing to acknowledge sin, when we are living in rebellion, God cannot answer our prayers even if the request is right and the timing is right.

For instance, a man who is having an affair can pray that God blesses his business and his children. The request is absolutely right. The timing is absolutely right on. But the man is sooooo wrong! God could not answer that prayer in the affirmative. The man has to repent and change his ways.

Jesus tells us, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…” We have to live our lives in a way that God can bless. We do that by obeying God’s word. We do that by changing our lifestyle to God’s righteousness.

God tells us in Psalm 145:19, “God fulfills the desire of all who who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them.”

God always fulfills the prayers and requests of those who fear God and seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness.

Even when the request is right, and the timing is right, if we are not right with God, God answers our prayers with, “Grow.” Grow up.

Mature in the faith. Live life according to God’s righteousness.

God always answers prayer. Because God is sovereign and a God who loves us sometimes God must answer our prayers with a “no”. The second way God answers prayer is by telling us, “wait”.

When our requests are wrong God says “No.”

When the timing is wrong God says, “Wait.”

In such prayers, it’s not that the request is wrong, it’s that the timing is off. For instance, when a twelve-year-old child asks, “Dad, can you help me to get a car?” It’s not that the request is wrong for all time. It’s just that the timing is wrong. If the child were to ask the same question in four years, the answer would definitely be quite different. We would sit down together and make a plan for how to get the sixteen-year-old their own car. As a matter of fact, I would be just as interested in making such an arrangement as I would be tired of sharing my car!

God tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

Undergirding our understanding of prayer is two realities:

1. God is sovereign. God is God and we are not.
2. God is good. Because God is a good God, we can be certain that God wants what is best for us, and that God knows better than we do what is best for us.

God always answers our prayers. You can be absolutely sure of that.

1. When the request is wrong, God says “No.”
2. When the timing is wrong, God says, “Wait.”

We may not like these answers but it still doesn’t change the fact these are legitimate and good answers. And that God says “no” and “wait” because he loves us and wants what is best for us.

So when you hear a “wait” from God, be patient and thank him for being a good and sovereign God.