If you haven’t had a chance to read parts 1 and 2, we are talking about prayer. God always answers our prayers. He doesn’t always give us what we ask for, but He always answers. Yesterday, we talked about how sometimes, we don’t get what we want because God has a better plan – a plan focused on our eternity not on a comfortable earthly life.
Today we are going to look at a second reason why God may not give us what we desire – He is protecting us from something. I can’t help but think about Garth Brooks’ song “Unanswered Prayers.” Again, I don’t believe that God doesn’t answer our prayers but I understand the premise behind the song is that he didn’t get something he asked for and is grateful for God’s protection.
I know that I have felt that same hand of protection from God before. I have asked for something, didn’t get it, and shortly afterwards realized what a blessing the answer “no” can be. I continue to praise God for that protection even today.
Don’t we ask God to protect us. And then we ask for something that He knows would not be good for us. It only makes sense that He would protect us from some of the things we ask for in prayer. He might be protecting us from our own selfish motives, from others or from satan.
As a parent, haven’t you ever said “no” to your child because you wanted to protect him or her? Did your child become angry? Maybe because he or she wasn’t old enough to understand the dangers. Maybe as a parent you felt it wasn’t best to share everything you knew about the situation or the people involved in it.
I can remember our daughter becoming angry with us because we wouldn’t allow her to do something that she really wanted to do. We knew things that she didn’t know. Things that we weren’t going to tell her because of her age. Years later, she mentioned the situation and how angry she was with us at the time for not letting her have her way. She then went on to say that as she grew older, she realized why we wouldn’t allow her to do what she asked and how grateful she was for our protection.
It is not our place to understand God. We are called to trust. God sees more than we see. He knows more than we know. Sometimes we just have to trust that His hand of protection is over us.
I love the words of the psalmist in Psalm 121. If you haven’t already, commit them to memory. “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”
Maybe God has given you an answer to a prayer lately that you didn’t like. Is it possible that He wants to protect you from something that you don’t know about? I hope that you will spend some time in prayer today talking to Him about your disappointment. It’s okay. He already knows how you feel. I also hope that you will choose to trust Him even when His “no” is hard to understand.
With Eyes on the Cross 