When God Says NoSample

When God Says No

DAY 1 OF 3

Walking Forward in Faith

I’ve been there. I’ve prayed on my knees until the carpet permanently imprints its knobby pattern in my skin. I’ve cried out with my face to the floor, begging God to give me the miracle.

And then. And then. And then.

The “no” hit me with the breaking force of a hurricane, and there I was. Stranded on a path I didn’t recognize, headed down a road I didn’t ask to journey.

The paralyzing thoughts came, like Job’s friends, to say, “Why are you here? What did you do wrong?”

But, I believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I believe Paul when he writes that “affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.”

So, I get up. I shake my frozen legs. And with the power that comes from Christ alone, I take an aching step forward down this strange path. The farther I walk, the easier it becomes because my muscles grow stronger than I knew they could. At times, I still have to dig in and scale the mountainside, but the view from where I stand is lovelier now than it ever was on the easy path.

 

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Scripture

Day 2

About this Plan

When God Says No

We know that God is a caring and loving God so why does He sometimes say “no” to our prayers or circumstances? Why is there confusing silence when it seems that the plans we have prayed are so in line with His will? In this 3-day plan, pray along with someone who has experienced that confusion and that pain. Pray for clarity, but also for understanding and perspective as God takes you through the difficult journey of knowing how to respond when God says “no.”

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