Yes ... No... and Not yet...

Yes, No and Not yet

Every time my young son asks me for something, those are the answers he gets.  Sometimes I tell him yes right away, sometimes I tell him he has to wait for what he is asking for and sometimes I tell him no. Most of the time, he just smiles and agrees and that's it, but sometimes when I say no, he isn't very happy and keeps pushing for it, so I have to explain to him that he has to trust me and then I explain why I'm saying no.

I think it's like that when we ask God for things.  He is our Father, we go to Him as his children with our prayer requests but we have to trust in His will.  We all love the "yes" answers.  Who wouldn't?   How many times as a child did you ask for something you wanted and your parents said yes, the joy you felt, I don't know about you but I feel the same way when God answers a prayer right away.  

Then there is "not yet".  Waiting is hard, I remember praying to be married since I was 20.. and eventually I just stopped focusing on that because God kept saying "not yet".  He still is, and I'm fine with that! His plans can be much different than what we feel they should be, but His timing is always perfect!  I've told this story before but my sister is the perfect example of a not yet prayer being answered in God's timing.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing.  So whatever it is you're waiting for, keep praying but also trust that God will give it to you in His perfect timing if He is saying not yet.  

"No" ouch.  I remember being a kid and wanting something sooo much it hurt lol and my mom said just a simple "no".  I would argue with her, like I knew better.  But I know she had her reasons for telling me no.  God has His reasons saying no to us.  We are His children, He knows what is best for us.  We can pray and pray and pray but if it is out of His will for us, we have to realize that He has something better!  We may never know why things happen (or don't happen).  And we never have to know, sometimes things just don't make sense at all, but if we really give it all to God, then whatever happens, good or bad, we can have peace in Him and His plans for us!

1 John 5:14-15 - This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.