God Is Not Deaf To Our Requests. But Sometimes Our Requests Might Be Deaf To His Will.

Matthew 7:7/12

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

• I have had many moments in my life where I BEGGED God to restore something, fix something or help with something, only to be met with silence for years on end. I have learned that these are not 'non answers' from God, but in fact are difficult and powerful lessons I had to learn as to why He would not answer. One of those answers was in my marriage not being restored, so I would draw closer to the Lord. One was in my only son being kept from me for now 16 years, only to place my trust in Him more and more. I have been homeless multiple times, faced jail time and gone through many other things where God did not 'rescue' me out of it, but allowed me to face things that did not harden me, but helped me to grow and to be still and know that He is God.

• WHY do you ask God for anything? Because you trust in His ability, wisdom, will and glory. You know that He is trustworthy. You know that He is true. You know that He never fails. You know that He is good. But there are many times where we simply seek Him to 'give us a fix' of something we might desire in selfishness or sin, instead of being still and learning what He is teaching us in the moment. The 'good things' we ask for are not always things, but in many cases may be hard lessons that draw us closer to Him, WHILE ALSO receiving provision and promise for His glory.

• When we experience the true and unfailing character of God, it will also lead us to treat our fellow man with the same goodness in which He also bestows upon us for His glory. We can help others to be encouraged that He DOES answer prayer, and He DOES save us, but not according to 'our will' or 'our way'. He only has ONE WAY, and it is through Christ Jesus alone (John 14:6, John 3:16/21).