Featured Episode: What to do When You’re Praying for Answers, but Still Feel Lost
IN THIS PODCAST EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:
What to do if it doesn’t feel like you’re getting a clear “yes” or “no” from God
How to decipher if a decision is up to you or if you need God’s direction or permission
How to know if God is saying “yes,” “no,” “maybe", or “not right now”
Why you need to allow yourself to grieve when God says no
What God might have in store for you on the other side of “no”
(You can also listen right here!👇)
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Hey friends! Welcome to Girls’ Night!
At the moment we’re in between seasons here on the show. But while we’re waiting for our next official season to begin, we thought this would be a great time to pull some of our favorite episodes out of the Girls Night archive. This is the perfect time to catch up on episodes you might have missed, or listen again to old favorites.
When I first became a Christian, I remember hearing someone say that God answers prayers in one of three ways. He either says, “Yes,” “No,” or “Not right now.” I think this insight was supposed to be helpful, but instead, it left me more confused than ever. Because especially when I’m coming up on a gigantic decision, or praying for something I want with my whole entire heart, I don’t want to know what God MIGHT say, I want to know what He IS saying.
And in the process of trying to figure it out, I end up acting like an amateur detective as I piece together clues.
“I didn’t get the job, does that mean that God is saying no? Or not right now? Or yes, but I have to just keep going?”
“I haven’t gotten pregnant yet, so does that mean that God is saying not right now, or yes, but we need to just keep trying for a while. Or, is God trying to tell me that I’m not meant to be a mom? Does God say that to people? Is that a thing?”
“I really really want this relationship to work out. Is this the person God has for me? How do I know?”
And in all of these gigantic life moments, how do we know if faith looks like making the best decision we can with the information we have and moving forward, OR if it looks like stopping and waiting for a clear answer from God before we take another step?
Anyone know what I’m talking about here?
That’s why I’m so excited about today’s episode. Today I’m talking with my friend Elizabeth Laing Thompson, and she’s going to help us get out of our heads and finally find some clarity here.
In this episode we’re talking about:
Whether we need a clear yes or no from God about every decision in our lives
How to know if God is saying no or not right now
How long we should keep trying before we give up on something
How to deal with the disappointment when God does say no
How to stay close to God even when He doesn’t give us the answer we want
If it’s okay to ask God to change His mind about something
And so much more!
PIN ME!
LINKS FROM THE SHOW
Steph’s book, The Lipstick Gospel (here’s a paperback copy and here’s a free digital download!)
Steph’s prayer journals, Every Single Moment and The Between Places
Elizabeth’s book: When God Says "No": Facing Disappointment and Denial without Losing Heart, Losing Hope, or Losing Your Head
Other Girls Night episode with Elizabeth: Girls Night #102: Feelings: How to Navigate Them, Manage Them, and Use Them for Good
Scripture Mentioned:
2 Corinthians 1
Psalm 34:18
The book of Ruth
Quotes Mentioned:
"God is with you and He does trust you to make decisions" - Elizabeth
"God is less concerned with the destination than He is with the journey" - Steph
"We can't take enough wrong turns to get to a place where God can't find us again or use us again" - Steph
"He cares about the journey. He cares about how we get there" - Elizabeth
"He (God) cares about the desires of our heart" - Elizabeth
"What we see from people that we admire in scripture...is having hope in one hand and surrender in the other" - Elizabeth
"God is the God of surprise endings" - Elizabeth
"Your story isn't over" - Elizabeth
"It's okay to not be okay" - Elizabeth
"You might be facing a no, but there is another side of it" - Elizabeth
"I can redeem that pain by sharing what I learned with others" - Elizabeth
"God gave you a story and you can go tell it" - Elizabeth
"Nothing in the world is beyond God's ability to repair or redeem" - Stephanie
CONNECT WITH ELIZABETH
Facebook // Website // Instagram
CONNECT WITH STEPHANIE
WE LOVE OUR SPONSORS!
Girls Night with Stephanie May Wilson is sponsored by BetterHelp. Find more balance, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/FRIENDSHIP today to get 10% off your first month.
Our sponsor for today’s episode is Brilliant Earth. Check out all of their beautiful pieces at brilliantearth.com.