God loves us even if He says no to what we request in our prayers.
This was the assurance made by world renowned evangelist Billy Graham, better known as "America's Pastor", when a woman asked why God sometimes refuses to grant the faithful's prayers.
"I know God sometimes says 'no' when we ask for something in our prayers. But if He really loved us, wouldn't He always answer our prayers with a 'yes'?" she asked Graham through his "My Answer" column.
Graham said that God has reasons for saying 'no' to our prayers much like a parent who refuses a child something he wants because it may not be safe or good.
"Let me assure you that God does love us, and precisely because He loves us, He sometimes says 'no' to what we request in our prayers. In a much greater way, God loves us and knows what is best for us — far more than we do. And because He wants to keep us from harm, He sometimes says 'no,'" he replied.
Graham cited his own experiences where God refused to grant his prayers and admitted that he too felt disappointment at first. But as time went on, he realised that God's refusal was actually His way of steering His children from harm.
In one of his columns, Graham reminded readers that the faithful should be sensitive to God's answers and stop insisting on something that God has already refused to grant.
In these cases, Graham asked readers to reflect and understand why they want their prayer to come true so badly, the Christian Post reports. He reiterated that the purpose of praying is to ask for God's will and not to fulfil one's earthly desires.
"God hasn't promised to answer every prayer we make," Graham added. "He has promised only to answer those that are in line with His will. The Bible says, 'This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us' (1 John 5:14)."
