October 22, 2025 Devo

Thank God for unanswered prayers! There are times that we really don’t want what we think we want because what we want is not going to do for us what we think it will do. (Say that 3 times really fast!) While in college, I worked with inner-city kids for a few summers in a YMCA Summer Day Camp program. The camp was for 5 to 12-year-olds. These kids lived in a hard world. A few of the counselors we had were from the same projects as the kids and were like surrogate parents to them.
One counselor was a tough, 20-something guy who really made his boys toe the line. Most of them were a part of his football team he coached. One day, it was discovered that one of the “I think I’m so tough” 12-year-olds brought a huge, nasty cigar to camp. He thought he was going to be cute and show off for his buddies by lighting it up. He got caught. The tough football coach made the guys get in a circle and put the kid with the cigar in the middle. “Light your cigar,” the coach said, “and smoke it.” The brash 12-year-old lit it like he had smoked for years. But he hadn’t. Just a puff or two, and the kid was gagging. The counselor said, “Come on, tough guy. Smoke some more.” After another couple of puffs, the kid threw up. He realized the hard way that he really didn’t want to smoke cigars after all. All the other guys decided they didn’t either!
Our Psalm tells the story of how God resisted the requests of the Israelites again and again. Finally, when it became clear they weren’t listening to Him, God gave them what they asked for. But when they got it, they didn’t like it! We should take note of that. What we THINK we want or need isn’t always what we really want or need. In fact, sometimes, when we finally get what we want, it has some pretty painful consequences that come along with it. A part of our maturity of faith is realizing that God knows best. The prayer of “Not my will, but your will be done” is not a lack-of-faith cop-out. It’s actually a prayer that puts faith in the LEADING OF GOD as much as the POWER of God.
So when God says “No” to a prayer of yours, thank Him. Thank Him that He loves you enough to say “No.” Thank Him that He’s not just looking at what you WANT, but He’s looking at what you NEED. Trust His loving leadership in your life, and don’t force what He’s been saying “No” to. Otherwise, you might end up being the one in the middle of the circle gagging on your own desires. Thank God for unanswered prayers! That’s God’s Word for you today.