The Power of "No!" - CONCLUSION

In this series of blog posts, and to some extent, the previous series entitled, The Complications of Prayer, my intention was never to depict prayer as an unreliable spiritual discipline replete with God’s refusals. My choice of titles may have stirred the curiosity of some readers, but the point there was to reveal irony more so than being literal. It was always my hope that both series would, in some small way, address what I felt was a struggle many Christians have with some of the ways God answers their prayers.

The fact that prayer is one of the most important spiritual disciplines is a reality no reasonable Christian would deny. It is designed to awaken and heighten our intimacy with God as it provides a stabilizing effect on our faith-living. It gives us the boldness to advance even when we are faced with the severest of challenges. What encourages you more when preparing to press into new circumstances or wrestle with undesirable situations? That you have attended a church service, read your Bible, or prayed about the matter? To know that we have covered our challenges with prayer inspires us to takes steps of faith that we would have otherwise resisted.

It is this potential of prayer to decisively change our circumstances, demeanor, and perspectives that make us so emotional about its outcomes in our lives. As a daily spiritual exercise, prayer can refresh our spirits and reorient our hearts towards more Divine directions. However, it is the answers to our prayers offered in times of desperation that have the highest likelihood of altering our perceptions of God and affecting our attitudes about our faith. Those prayers made in the grimmest circumstances, when there is no time to call friends or read comforting Bible passages. Those prayers composed of our cries and soaked with our tears. The prayers made persistently throughout the day because our pain shows little respect for our schedules. Those prayers we offer amid our everyday routines like brushing our teeth, taking a shower, getting dressed, eating, driving, walking, taking the bus, and working because our heartaches and confusion insist on being our constant companions. These prayers pour out of us as if we were driven by some visceral instinct to cry out to our God. When the pain descends upon us, and we are panic-stricken because any possibility of human intervention has failed to materialize, it is the lifeline of prayer that serves as that last thread of hope for our sanity and survival. And then, there is a moment of silence as we remain still, almost breathless, waiting to see if it worked. Motionless, we listen, hoping to hear a voice other than our own, looking to see some shift of movement in the obstacles before us, hoping for some relief from our pain, no matter how small. After all of that, with our energy spent and spirits still weighted, we realize nothing has changed. It is this realization that shakes us to the core of who we thought ourselves to be in Christ. We feel as if we misjudged the true nature of our relationship with our Heavenly Father. We start thinking we are no different than anyone else – hopeless and left to our own devices in this unpredictable world.

I write this way because I have felt like that too many times. It happened when I was in the emergency room on four different occasions, when I was in divorce court, when I was about to have surgery, and when I could not find a job no matter how many applications I submitted or interviews I had. It happened when my apartment was robbed, when my car was stolen, and when I drove my friend to the hospital because he had stomach pains, and he died the next day. I know I am not the only one to feel this way. Many of you have been through so much worse. Such traumas shape us in unusual and profound ways, not merely because they are stressful and painful, but because of the solution many of us have chosen to remedy that stress and pain: Prayer. Those prayers offered with pleadings for relief or escape that were met with a seeming silence from heaven can deeply wound our faith. Sadly, some Christians are willing to leave prayer out entirely because they believe God had let them down too many times when they felt it mattered the most. There are some things others no longer pray about because they sincerely believe God will do nothing about them since He has not already. Those are the struggles I wanted to address.

It was my hope to give an expanded perspective on God’s refusals in our times of struggle. Instead of seeing them as a negative, I wanted my readers to dive deeper and engage with our Heavenly Father because of those denials. There is so much more for us to gain when God has free reign to be Divine in our lives. These blog series were never meant to discourage anyone from persistent prayer. Quite to the contrary, they were intended to encourage a more engaged prayer life. I know that a “no” from God can feel like a dagger to the soul when our distresses make us desperate for change. However, you and I must never give up on prayer. It is that exclusive channel to God’s solutions if we are willing to accept that we can be in line with God’s desires (Yes), or we could be out of step with what He wants (No). Either way, prayer will keep us right where God wants us to be. That is the power of prayer. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 (NIV)

CONCLUSION.

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