Three Answers to Prayer, Yes, No, Wait. Part [14] 07/18/2026 (Morning thought)

John 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

There’s only one big problem with that testimony, in that Christ would have to die first, in order to find out the truth in the matter. That is the equivalent of telling a person that they have the power to walk on air, but to find out, they would first have to jump off a high cliff. When you see Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, clinging to the cold ground with much weeping, it is because the prince of darkness was tempting Him with the thought that separation from The Father would be eternal.

He was also tempted om the prospect that the cross was the means by which God was seeking to get rid of Him. A very brutal temptation indeed. [The Desire of Ages pp 753] Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Savior could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal.

Matthew 26:39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: never-the-less not as I will, but as thou wilt. 42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

Matthew 26:44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!

Three Answers to Prayer, Yes, No, Wait. Part [13] 07/18/2026 (Evening thought)

Matthew 26:37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

We must now turn our attention to the last of the three answers to prayer, the one most believers do not like, and the one which often causes persons to get discouraged, and question the goodness of God in the process. We are speaking of No. When prayer requests are made, sometimes, in the wisdom of God He may see fit to deny the request with a definite No. This should never cause persons to stumble.

Neither should faith in God be shaken to the point where doubts arise and discouragements may set in. One of the most important lessons we will all have to learn is that of receiving a No answer from God, with a cheerful spirit. The Yes and the Wait might be easier to bear, but it’s the No that shows whether or not we are truly humble. There are two prominent Nos in the Bible that we must now examine, because they shed great light on the humble spirit we spoke earlier of.

The first one has to do with none other than Christ Himself, who prayed earnestly to the Father, and received not only a Wait, but also a No. The No came at a very difficult time for Jesus, as the powers of darkness were coming in for the kill, and the prince of darkness wrung the soul of Jesus with terrible temptations. One of those temptations had to do with what the Father testified of Christ, as it pertained to Him having the power to lay down His life and the power to take it back up again.

Matthew 26:38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death: tarry you here, and watch with me.

May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!