Seek God in Prayer, Even if The Answer is “No”

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  (Luke 11:9, NIV) 

Luke 11:9 says: seek Him. It kind of sounds a little too simple. After all, when we are praying we are seeking God.

We must first seek God by communicating with Him and then we will find the answer to our prayer. The most important question we must ask ourselves is are we prepared to hear the answer?

Can we handle the answer if God tells us no?

We live in a time when not getting your way is not okay, so we tend to find some way to get around that “no” we didn’t want to hear in the first place. As we seek God during this time of prayer and as we ask Him these deep desires within our hearts, we must trust Him no matter what the answer is.

As we get deeper into studying Luke 11:9, we find it isn’t just words we recite during one prayer sitting. This scripture is a process that isn’t to be taken lightly. It is reasonable to think that at some point we may find ourselves wrestling with God over an answer. Maybe you are praying for something you can’t imagine your life without such as a future spouse, a baby, or seeing your husband or wife accept your Savior as their Savior.

We may be praying because we are at the end of ourselves and there is nothing left to try. We may also be praying because we know God hears us. We saints, are reduced to falling to our knees in the most heart wrenching prayer we have ever asked of God.

God’s decisions aren’t always based on what we think is right, and that can be the most difficult realization.

This middle part of the scripture to seek the Lord is especially difficult because it takes the “I” right out of the equation. God wants you to ask Him for things you want or need. But mostly He wants to spend time with you. He desires to have a personal relationship with you. He also wants you to keep asking Him for things not because He is holding back but because He loves your seeking heart.

What are you desperately asking God for right now? Can you continue to trust Him to bring something better, something far beyond what you are asking for?