In the song “Unanswered Prayers,” by Garth Brooks, the chorus states “some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” Well Jeremiah 33:3 says “call to me and I will answer you.” So, the idea of unanswered prayers would seem to be false. Don’t worry; I’m not here to tear Garth Brooks apart or to say the song is an attack on Christian beliefs. I actually like the song and I understand when you are writing sometimes a little poetic license is necessary to make it all work. However, this song does help to illustrate the point I want to make.
For those who aren’t familiar with the song, it follows Garth Brooks who goes to a hometown football game with his wife. While they are there, they run into Garth Brooks’ high school girlfriend. He starts to remember how much he wanted to be with her and how he prayed over and over again that he would always be with her. While he is talking to her, he starts to realize the reality didn’t match the dreams he had of her since they have been apart. He realizes only now, when comparing the reality of her to the reality of his wife that he is happier and much better off with the person that he married. And so, he thanks God for unanswered prayers because this one led him to his wife. However, can you really say that the prayer was unanswered? I mean he prayed to be with his ex forever. Since they aren’t together and he is, instead, married to somebody else, it would seem safe to say that God actually said “No, you won’t be with her forever.”
The idea of unanswered prayers is not exclusive to this chart topping Garth Brooks hit. Actually, a lot of people feel as though they have prayers that aren’t answered. Almost as though God has decided to just ignore them all together. He didn’t ignore you. He actually answered you; maybe you didn’t hear the answer, maybe you chose to ignore the answer but he answered just the same. The answer was simply “no” or possibly “not right now.” We don’t like to hear the word no, so sometimes we just kind of tune it out and pretend like it never happened. We didn’t get the answer we wanted so it seems easier for us to believe that God just chose not to answer, because surely God wouldn’t have to tell us no. Perhaps, we have a hard time accepting that God would ever say no. I know my kids have a hard time accepting no as an answer. They either respond by repeating what they want in a whinier voice or they decide to ask their Mom hoping for a more agreeable answer. My wife and I have to remind them that “You asked, I answered and the answer was ‘no.’” As adults, we like to think that we have moved past that, but the reality is we tend to have a similar attitude concerning what we want.
When I order a cheeseburger at a restaurant, I order it with no pickles. However, occasionally when I get my order is still has pickles on it. I know it was a simple mistake that is easy enough to make when you are making who knows how many burgers a day and the vast majority of them have pickles, but I still get upset about it. I wanted my burger prepared in a specific way that is to my liking and by making a mistake you have essentially told me that I can’t have it my way. Never mind the fact that all I have to do is take the pickles off the cheeseburger. I still experience a couple moments of disappointment and defeat before I inevitably reach this simple solution. Actually, whenever anyone tells me I can’t have something I want, I get upset. After all, I’m an adult and I feel like I know what is best for me, and clearly I should have what is best for me. The honest truth is that I feel the same way about the things I ask for from God. I know what’s best for me; He clearly has no reason to tell me no.
If we look at Isaiah 55:9 God reminds us “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” So I have to understand and submit to the fact that I can’t possibly know everything God knows or comprehend why He does everything He does. However, I also know that I can trust that He is always acting according to my best interest even if I can’t see it at the time. (Jeremiah 29:11) I’m not sure if the phrase originated in the movie or not, but there was a line in “God’s Not Dead” that I loved. Towards the end of the movie, Reverend Dave, played by David A. R. White, says “God gives us the answer we would want, if we knew what He knows.” I think that is the perfect way to say it. We may not like to be told no, but if we knew everything God knows, we wouldn’t have asked Him for it in the first place.
We like to think that a benevolent God wouldn’t say no because He wants us to be happy and if I want something, then clearly that makes me happy. However, as any parent knows, we often don’t really know what we want. At the very least, we get caught up in the here and now and forget about long term goals. Children love to be able to buy games, but left to their own vices, they will spend their money on candy and cheap little toys that will be broke or lost in a week’s time. As parents, we have to remind our children to continue saving so they can achieve the bigger goal. Thankfully, as adults, we have a God that denies us some of the instant gratification to keep us on track for the ultimate goal in His perfect plan.
What about the more painful no’s, the ones that deal with severe loss and human life? I’ve experienced crushing losses that I cried and prayed wouldn’t happen. I’ve lost opportunities for what seemed like the perfect job and experienced the devastating loss of loved ones. How can a loving God ignore those pleas? It doesn’t make the loss any easier, but it still comes down to God’s ultimate plan. King David said in his final speech to his people that his desire was to build a temple for God, but God told him, “no.” God wouldn’t allow His temple to be built by a man who had shed human blood (1 Chronicles 28 2 & 3). I’m sure David was hurt by this, especially since a lot of the blood was shed in service to and with God’s blessing, but God had planned for a time of peace and unimaginable prosperity for David’s son, Solomon, in which the temple would be built.
Jesus, The Son Of God, prayed and pleaded that if there was any other solution that he wouldn’t be crucified, but he was still willing to submit Himself to the will of the Father. The scripture tells us that Jesus was in such fear and anguish that He sweat blood. So we can safely assume that this was not a calm prayer but rather a desperate plea. God did send an angel to strengthen Jesus to fulfill the task He was given, but we can clearly see that the answer was, “No, there is no other way.” There is no doubt that Jesus was holy, righteous, and loved dearly by God The Father, yet even Jesus was told no. God told His Son no because it was the only way to save us; and Jesus submitted to the Father and willingly laid down his life because it was the only way to save us. So don’t let there be any doubt God doesn’t tell you no because He doesn’t love you, but rather He tells you no because He loves you more than you love yourself.
So let’s see if I just change the line in that song to “Some of God’s greatest gifts are when He says no.” Yikes! Maybe we should just leave the song alone; like I said, poetic license. It most certainly sounds much better that way. But in the end, I guess Garth was right. Saying no does lead to some of the greatest gifts that God gives us. In fact, God’s greatest gift required Him to say no.
