"The Moment I Knew God Was Ready To Elevate Me"---Next Level Blessings
I will be the first to tell you, God Answers Prayer. In fact my first experiences with God happened during prayer. There were several moments in my teenage years, where I felt the move of God so real in my life. I knew then what I know now: God is a Prayer answering God.
This is why one of the most difficult things I have ever been through was when I felt God was telling me no. For so long, it seemed as though whenever I really prayered for something. When I sincerely brought my petitions to the Lord in prayer, God would answer me. I had gotten so used to God saying Yes, that prayer became like my special superpower. No matter what I needed or wanted, I would simply pray about it and the issue would be fixed.
Until...God finally told me no! I was praying for a relationship to get fixed and resolved, and I heard God so clearly saying.. "ROHO..No..it's not going to happen...I won't give this to you...it's time for you to grow..
I know that for God to use us and to mold us he has to sometimes tell us no. But by and by we will see that God was sparing us from headaches and some heartaches that we couldn't see in the moment. You will know you are ready to be used by God when you can hear God saying No...and YET STILL trust Him.. And Still Follow Him. "Thou he slay me...Yet will I trust him"
One of the hardest things in the world is submitting ourselves to God. Its' not that we don't love and honor God, it's that we think we can get our lives in order, all by ourselves. Yet if we live long enough, we will all get to the point where we have to throw our hands up and declare "I CAN'T DO THIS ON MY OWN. I NEED YOUR GOD, RIGHT NOW. NOT MY WILL, BUT LET THY WILL BE DONE."
Make an Investment In Your GrowthToday! Your giving allows us to pour into you. Our daily emails are focused on your improvement and growth. We are committed to help you become your very Best!
Scripture for Meditation
Job 13:15 (KJV) — "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."
Beloved, this is the language of covenant faith. Job didn't say these words because everything was comfortable—he said them in the valley. When God says no to your petition, this is your north star: your trust in Him must transcend your understanding of your circumstances.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) — "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."
Family, notice it doesn't say lean not on your feelings or your logic—it says lean not on your understanding. God's no is often His redirection, not His rejection. What feels like a closed door is frequently Him positioning you for the elevation you cannot yet see.
Romans 8:28 (KJV) — "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
This promise anchors us: every no, every delay, every detour serves the purposes God has already written for your life. The relationship He refused to restore? That's the heartache He spared you. The opportunity He withheld? That's the distraction He removed.
Walking It Out
Write down a "no" from God that confused you. Take time today to journal about a prayer request God denied. Then write beside it: "What was He protecting me from?" Often, with time and hindsight, we see His wisdom. Let this exercise rebuild your faith in His refusals.
Practice saying "Yes, Lord" to one small inconvenience today. Submission is a muscle. If you cannot trust God with the small no's—a delayed bus, a rejected idea at work, a friend's unavailability—you won't trust Him with the major ones. Choose one minor disappointment and consciously surrender it to His sovereignty.
Tell someone how God's "no" became His blessing. Your testimony is your teacher's license. Share with one person this week how a denied prayer later revealed itself as protection or redirection. This strengthens both their faith and yours.
A Prayer for You
Lord Jesus, I come before You humbled and honest. I confess that I have wanted to believe Your "yes" answers more than I've wanted to trust Your "no" ones. Teach me, Spirit of God, to receive Your refusals as the same love that gives me my blessings. Help me understand that elevation means emptying myself of my own will and filling myself with Yours. When You tell me no today, give me the grace to say "Yet will I trust You"—and mean it with every fiber of my being. Build in me a faith that doesn't break when You redirect me, but breaks only for the things that break Your heart. In Jesus' name, Amen.
About the Author
Rev. Nicholas S. Richards is an ordained minister, author of Destiny DNA, and founder of ROHO. For over 11 years, he has written more than 6,000 daily devotionals reaching believers worldwide. Learn more about Rev. Richards.