Parents have no trouble saying “no” to their children’s requests that are obviously dangerous or destructive. However, when it comes to a relationship with God, we believers often forget that we are the children. We often spend a lot of time lamenting over “unanswered prayer,” without ever considering how His response of “no” or “wait” might be in our best interest. Sometimes, not getting what we ask for may be far more important to our development than having our temporary desires fulfilled.

God has multifaceted reasons for why He does, or doesn’t, respond as we hope—some of which we may never understand on this side of eternity. But in those moments of disappointment and confusion, we must hold fast to the knowledge that faith and trust in the Lord are what gets us through. While some of God’s answers remain a mystery (Deuteronomy 29:29 NIV), we can hang on to the promise that He is always involved in our lives.

As we find ourselves seemingly empty-handed after a lot of asking, we must remember God’s character and trust that He is absolutely responding, but in ways that we could never imagine.