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In the movie, Bruce Almighty, a regular guy is given God's powers. When the character Bruce, played by Jim Carrey, starts to hear the prayers of the world he thinks he has a solution. He sets up an email service, tags all the incoming requests and sends an automatic "yes" to all prayers. Being a nice guy, he thinks that will solve a lot of problems in the world. But then he doesn't know the human heart like God does.

God knows the human heart because He created it. He knows how fragile it is, how quickly it can harden and above all, how it needs to be loved. Real love does not mean a perpetual "yes". When it comes to prayer, there are three answers: yes, no and wait.

To get a yes answer, it's best to study what He normally says yes to. By reading the Bible, you've got an amazing view to God's heart. Generations of prayer requests are recorded there, as well as the answers. From the beginning of time, God communicated with His creation. Every glorious "yes" is revealed down through history. If you want a positive answer to your prayers, then you must learn how to ask. It all boils down to one concept, "seek His kingdom first" or, ask for something God wants.

One of the most difficult answers to hear is "no". Sometimes we feel like we're being punished, that He doesn't want us to have something we so dearly desire. We start to think that His negative answer means He doesn't love us anymore. Like a child denied a toy, we storm off to our room and slam the door of our heart. "No" does not mean "never".

The hardest "no" to understand is in the death of a loved one. You want them to remain on earth with you, to have one more day to love them, but God takes them anyway. No amount of bribery, promises or deals can keep your loved one tied to earth. But does this answer mean you will never see them again? Only if you don't intend to follow them to heaven. If you really think about it, maybe God is saying "no" to your loved one's suffering, pain and illness instead of your request for them to linger.

God never says "maybe", but He will say, "wait". You could be praying for 10 days or 10 years for a prodigal to come home. And every day you hear "wait". You could be praying for reconciliation with a friend, but it hasn't happened yet. If you get the answer "wait", what are you doing with it? Are you sitting by the phone, pacing the floor, staying up at night? Remember, this answer is not "no", it is "wait". This is when you can rest assured He is tirelessly working on your request.

I would encourage you to not give up on prayer just because you got a "no". Think about your prayers, are you really asking for something that God would want? And remember, His "no" always means a "yes" to something better than you can ever imagine.

Learn more about this author, Kelly Edens.
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