What To Do When You Don’t Get What You Want

Perhaps one of the most abused or misused verses in the Bible is in Matthew chapter 7. 

(Matthew 7:7-11) “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

If I want it than God will give it to me.  If He doesn’t, I will be upset with God because I have decided I need what I asked for.  Actually there are a few reasons that I see that might affect God’s answer to your prayer.

First.  You have failed to examine your heart.  You have some un-confessed sin tucked away in the corner of your heart.  You have decided that the sin doesn’t matter.  That you can stand before a holy God even though you have quenched the Spirit with the sin that you are embracing.  Yes, you are a child of God.  Washed in the blood.  But you need to clear the air … approach God with clean hands and a clean heart. (Psalm 24:3-5) “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.” 

Second. In God’s wisdom, there is a better answer to your prayer than the one that you have decided is the best one.  This is a test of submission to the will of the Father.  Are you really committed to seeking His will or is it only when His will agrees with yours? 

Third.  As the King James Version says “You ask amiss”.  (James 4:2-3) “You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”  Is it your flesh, your old nature, that you are seeking to satisfy? 

If everything is for God’s glory, why are His answers not good enough when you don’t get what you asked for? If God’s will for you is for your good and His glory, then the test is, can you trust God even when He is silent.  When you don't get what you asked for.  God is not here to serve us.  It is quite the opposite.  Even grocery stores are delivering what they sell to homes.  You nearly don’t have to leave the house.  But God does not take delivery orders.  It is so very important that we have the right view toward God.  Unlike the new TV show, God does not want to “friend you” on Facebook!  He is not your buddy.  He is the creator God who sacrificed His Son that you might be adopted and eternally blessed – for His glory and for your good.  We all should keep that in mind when we approach Him in prayer. CHARLEY