When God’s Answer is No
May 18, 2026Summary
Have you ever felt like you had the perfect amount of faith, followed every rule, and pleaded with every ounce of your soul, only to hit a wall of silence—or worse, a clear "no"? If you are tired of platitudes that tell you to "just have more faith" and are asking what to do when God says no, you are in the exact right place. In this episode of the Arise, Women of God podcast, host Tamara K. Anderson and guest Wendi Christensen explore why a "no" from Heaven isn't a rejection of your heart, but rather a loving invitation into a deeper partnership with the Savior.
Tamara vulnerably shares the next chapter of her son's autism diagnosis story, explaining how her stubborn demands for physical healing were met with a profound perspective shift that healed her soul instead. We also discuss how God uses a "no" to honor the agency of others, protect our children from the wrong paths, and guide our everyday decisions. Finally, Wendi shares a beautiful lesson on the story of Joseph in Egypt and the ultimate "Garth Brooks Lesson"—why we will one day thank God for unanswered prayers. Tune in to move from demanding your own way to peacefully leaning into His!
Episode Takeaways
- No is an Invitation: A "no" to your specific request is not a rejection of your worth or a sign that you lack faith. It is often an invitation to a soul-level transformation and a deeper partnership with God.
- The "Garth Brooks" Lesson: Sometimes we beg for something (like a high school sweetheart or a specific path), but later look in our rearview mirror and thank God for unanswered prayers because He had a much better plan.
- God is in the Pit: Just like Joseph of Egypt, who was thrown into a pit and sold into slavery, God is with you in the darkest moments. Joseph didn't know the end of his story in the prison, but God did.
- Protecting the Path: God often uses a "no" to honor the agency of others (like a broken engagement) or to protect us from a path that isn't ours (like taking the wrong job or school choice).
Resources
Ready to find strength and lean in during those difficult seasons? Get our free Roadmap to Revelation bundle with a downloadable pdf & an MP3 Meditation to help you calm your mind and prepare to Receive Light & Revelation here: https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/Roadmap-to-Revelation
Reflection Questions
- Can you look back at your life through the "rearview mirror" and find a prayer you are thankful God didn't answer the way you wanted?
- When you receive a "no" from God, is your first instinct to tip away from Him in anger, or to tip toward Him for comfort?
- How does the story of Joseph in Egypt help you trust God's long-term plan, even when you feel like you are currently in "the pit"?
Host & Guest
Tamara K. Anderson @tamarakanderson
Wendi Christensen @wendichristensencounseling
Transcript
00:00:00.560 - 00:06:05.520
Have you ever felt like you had the perfect amount of faith? That you followed every rule, pleaded with every ounce of your soul, and still hit a wall of silence? Or maybe even a no?
Perhaps you might be asking, what do I do when God's answer is no? Because you're tired of the just have more faith platitudes where you feel like no is a sign that God isn't listening.
Or perhaps that you're not worthy of his miracles. Oh, I felt that before my friends. And don't worry, you are in the right place.
By the end of today's episode, you'll understand that a no from heaven isn't a rejection of your heart, but an invitation into a deep partnership with the Savior.
We're going to help you solve the feeling of disappointment by sharing the day when I demanded a healing from my son and later received a perspective shift that changed my soul. And instead we're moving from demanding it be my way to leaning his way. Stay tuned. Ordinary women, Extraordinary faith. When God calls, we say yes.
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Arise Woman of God podcast. I'm your host, Tamara K. Anderson.
And joining me today is Wendy Christensen, who is a fantastic Christian counselor and my co founder of Women warriors of Light. And today we are tackling such a heavy and hard question. What do we do when God answers no? That's always a hard thing.
First, I'm going to finish the story that I started last episode about talking about my son's diagnosis of autism and the moment I stopped trying to prove God wrong. Second, we're going to look at the agency of others and why God sometimes says no to save us from a path that isn't ours.
Third, we'll talk about why a no can be a direct instruction in everyday life, from teenage jobs to helping your children with school decisions. And finally, Wendy's going to share her Garth Brooks lesson thanking God for unanswered prayers. All right, friends.
After my son Nathan was diagnosed with autism, I just didn't accept it. I decided I was going to prove the doctors wrong and that he didn't have autism. Yes, I know. Denial, right? But in my grief, I was struggling.
And yet I knew I had enough faith that I knew God could heal him. And I demanded that he would heal him. I tried everything. Gluten free, casing free diets, vision therapy, speech therapy, audio therapy.
You name it, I tried it. I was banging on the doors of heaven, demanding an answer because for some reason, I couldn't face the future with autism in my life or in his.
The good news is, God loved me through my stubbornness, through that processing phase which lasted probably longer than it should have. He let me vent. He let me be angry.
And when I finally calmed down enough to stop talking and start listening, I asked, why can't we be a normal family? The answer that came into my heart at that point was, tamara, this is normal for you.
That was not the healing that I wanted, but it was the answer that I needed because it raised my sights to a higher level, a more godlike perspective.
He was more interested in helping me stretch and to learn to lean on him through every hard moment of every difficult day than he was in removing the challenge. That no to healing was a yes to a soul level transformation in me. Did I want it? No. Was it hard? Yes. But I also realized I could not do it alone.
It was too difficult and it was too hard. And that is exactly what I needed to learn that as I yoked myself to God, he would help me every single step.
I've seen other no answers come in many different forms. Sometimes it's because God honors the agency of others.
I had a broken engagement many decades ago where I originally felt a yes, but it became a no because of someone else's choice. Today I thank God for that no because it led me to to my husband a few years later. Other times that no protects people we love like our children.
When my daughter was getting ready to enter kindergarten, our school district changed birth dates of when kids could start pushing her back one more year. I was fine with that until my husband asked, have you prayed about it? Nope, I sure haven't. And so I did.
And the answer was no, she needs to start kindergarten this year. Which meant I had to end up jumping through hoops and doing some private school and some homeschool schooling.
Following that no was the right path for her. Sometimes it's simple things like, should I take this job? I remember getting a very strong no as a teenager when I was looking for a job.
I originally said yes to one job, but then my dad, prompted by God, felt I shouldn't take it. And when I actually prayed about it, I felt that confirmed the answer was no. I felt so unsettled in my heart and soul about taking that job.
And so I called them back and said, I'm sorry, I can't do it.
So my friends, whether it's a teenage job, a school decision, or a no that dramatically impacts your life forever, no is often God's way of saying, I have a better route for you. Sometimes we only see the beauty of a no when we look through our rearview mirror.
Wendy Christensen is now going to share a lesson we can all relate to about the prayers we're glad weren't actually answered.
Wendi Christensen
00:06:06.090 - 00:09:07.950
I love the song by Garth Brooks, Unanswered Prayers. And it's a song about. He runs into his old girlfriend from high school, and he's with his wife and his family.
And he thinks back, and he remembers when in high school, he prayed that he could be with this high school sweetheart. And that was his prayer back then, was, I really want to be with her.
And then he sees his life and his wife right now, and he's like, I'm so grateful that God has unanswered prayers that he didn't answer that prayer because I love my wife now, and I'm so grateful for her in my life and that God realized what was best for me. That's one of my favorite songs. But I was also thinking, I've been studying recently Joseph of Egypt and his story in the Old Testament.
In Genesis, Joseph and the coat of many colors. And his brothers take him and they. They're jealous of him, right? He has the birthright, he's favored of his father, and so they go to slay him.
And if that was me, I would have been like, what's wrong with me that you're wanting to kill me? Why are you wanting to get rid of me? And if that wasn't enough, you know, they take his coat.
One of his other brothers is like, let's throw him in a pit. We'll just leave him to be devoured. So they go to throw him in a pit, and then they have another idea, well, let's sell him. Anyways.
So Joseph gets sold, and he gets sold into Egypt. But I think in that pit where his brothers are kind of outside the pit, partying and eating and rejoicing and, hey, we got this great plan.
How rejected he must have felt. But in the scriptures, it says, and God was with him, which also tells me he must have been with God.
He must have thought, okay, I just don't know the rest of the story, but I'm going to trust God. And he does just that. Here I am a slave. And then Potiphar's wife goes after Joseph, and he resists because he's God's in his heart.
And he resists because he knows who God is and God is with him. And then she accuses him of awful things that he didn't do, and he's thrown in jail, and he's there like three years.
But again it says, and God was with him. He doesn't see that God is preparing him for great things because obviously we what the rest of the story is. He interprets dreams for these two.
The baker, the butler in the. In the prison. Three years later, the butler remembers when the Pharaoh's asking, can someone interpret dreams?
Oh, yeah, there's this Hebrew slave in prison that he can. He can interpret dreams.
And so Joseph interprets the pharaoh's dream and warns him of the famine that was coming and helps prepare Egypt so that Joseph is prepared and ready when his brothers eventually do come back and are begging for food because they don't have food. That whole entire time, if Joseph had just been like, God hates me. He's not listening to me. He doesn't pay attention to me.
In the pit in the prison, Joseph didn't know the rest of the story, but God did.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:09:08.750 - 00:10:59.630
So, my friend, if you are facing a no today, please know my heart goes out to you. I know how hard that can feel sometimes. And I invite you not to. To tip away from God. Tip toward him. Use your agency to choose him as your partner.
In the middle of this challenge or trial or decision, he isn't saying no to punish you. He's saying no because he is readying something for you that you cannot yet imagine.
I want to add my testimony to the beautiful verse found in Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11, where God says, for. For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to give you hope and a future. To help you find strength and lean in during those difficult seasons.
We want to give you our free roadmap to revelation download along with the accompanying audio meditation to help you prepare to receive light and revelation. You can find these free at the link below in this guide, I invite you to look at step number three, the growth process or law of the tree.
It will help you understand that spiritual growth is often slow and sometimes requires pruning of our own desires.
Also, you can use the Cast out the Adversary prayer on page eight to clear away the feelings of anger and betrayal that can sometimes come from a no answer and bring in peace and light and love from God. So, my friends, God is still with you and there for you even and especially when he says no.
Trust him and watch for that door to open just down the hall, a little to the left. And until next time, may you arise. Do it God's way. God strong.
