November 25, 2025 • 17 mins
Today we’re diving deep into a topic that resonates with so many of us: why it sometimes feels like our prayers are going unanswered.
Have you ever found yourself pleading with God, pouring out your heart for a breakthrough or a change, only to be met with silence? Maybe you’re asking for healing, clarity, or relief from a burden, but despite your faith and persistence, nothing seems to shift.
We’ll explore what it truly means when God’s response is “Wait” or even “No,” and how these answers are not signs of indifference, but rather expressions of His love and wisdom. Through stories of real-life challengesfrom Leanne and her clients, we’ll uncover how God’s timing and decisions often lead to outcomes far greater than we can envision. And while waiting or facing rejection can feel painful and confusing, there is a deeper trust and peace available when we lean into His plan.
Join us as we break down the steps to find hope and faith during those seasons of waiting and learn to see God’s “No” as a powerful redirection rather than rejection. Because even in His silence, He is working—moving on your behalf in ways you can’t yet see.
HOST: Leanne Ellington // StresslessEating.com // @leanneellington
To learn more about Leanne, head over to www.LeanneEllington.com, and to share your thoughts, questions, feedback, or guest suggestions instantly, head on over to www.WhatsGodGotToDoWithIt.com.
Follow Leanne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leanneellington/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
If you want to go on a journey.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
If you're skeptical, don't worry.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Now here to preach. Want to keep it clean and
talk to me and recall where faith meets starts nature.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Get in touch with your creator with a bacon, love
and jew She even speaks Hebrew. What's that gotzato? What's that?
Speaker 1 (00:37):
This?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Well sabosation?
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Should talking transformation?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
What's that got toto?
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Hey?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
And welcome back to what's God got to do with it?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And today we're tackling a topic that I know is
probably weighed heavy on the hearts of so many of us.
And I'm talking about those times when it feels like
our prayers are falling on deaf ears, and you know,
we're pouring our hearts out to God asking for something
with all the faith we can muster, and it seems
like nothing is happening. And so maybe you've been there,
(01:10):
maybe you're even there right now, and you're on your
knees praying for God to step in and move in
a situation that feels unbearable to wait any longer for
resolution on but all you're getting is silence. Or you're
praying for clarity, for direction, for a breakthrough, and yet
you feel just as lost and stuck as you did before.
(01:31):
And so if you've ever found yourself crying out, like, God,
why aren't you answering me? Why aren't you showing up?
Then this episode is for you, my friend, because I
want to shed some light on what might be happening
during those silent seasons, and the seasons when God's answer
might be weight or even gulp, I know the answer
(01:52):
might be no, right, And so let me just start
by saying I get it. I've been there too, and
I know what it's like to wrestle with that frustration
to wonder if maybe you know I'm praying wrong, or
if I'm somehow being punished or The thing I used
to really identify with was this belief of like, does
God help and support the answers and you know, answer
(02:13):
the prayers.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Of everyone else, but just not for me.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
And so I've been in those places where I've questioned, like, God,
do you even hear me?
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Are you even listening?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
And so today we're going to talk about why it
sometimes feels like our prayers aren't working and what it
means when God's answer isn't a yes right away or
even ever, and.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
We're going to unpack how to navigate.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Those tough seasons of silence when you're left waiting, or
when you're faced with a no or what feels like
a no.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Because here's the thing, just because God's.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Answer isn't what we want or when we want it,
it doesn't mean he's not listening. It doesn't mean that
he's not moving on your behalf, or that he's somehow
withholding his love or goodness from you. It just means
that there might be a different answer in store, one
that's hard to see from where you're standing right now.
So let's dig in and let's talk about what's really
(03:07):
going on when it feels like your prayers are bouncing
off the ceiling and coming right back at you. So
first I want to share a little story with you,
and it's about one of my stressless eating clients that
I was working with, and her name's Sarah. Now, as
you're probably starting to understand if you've been listening to
my podcast for a while, the majority of the work
that I do with women ironically has very little to
(03:29):
do with food, right It's about all of that stuff underneath.
It's in their heads, their hearts, and of course their
brains and nervous systems. And so now I don't run
a faith based program per se, but if my clients
have a connection and a relationship with God, you better
believe I'm going to invite them to invite God into
the work that we're doing from day one when it
(03:51):
comes to food and their bodies, because you can't have
a self image and identity conversation without God if God
is a part of your life. And so Zarah came
to me in tears one day, just saying, like, Leanne,
I've been praying and praying for God to help my marriage,
and I've been asking him to change my husband's heart and.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
To restore the connection between us.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
And now by this point she was also now clear
that this was one of the big reasons that she
was using food to fill voids of, you know, sadness
and loneliness and rejection. And we one thousand percent worked
on all of that. But she's also like got to
that point where it's like, Okay, Leanne, it's been months,
and if anything, things have gotten worse with my husband,
why isn't God answering that side of my prayers? Right?
(04:34):
And so my heart absolutely broke for her because I
could feel the desperation and the pain in her voice,
and maybe you can relate to that. Maybe it's not
about marriage, you know, but maybe you've been praying for
your own breakthrough in some area of your life, or
your health, or your finances, or maybe even praying for
someone you love to find healing or for a door
to open that just keeps staying shut. And when we
(04:57):
don't see that breakthrough, when when we don't see the
healing or the restoration or the open door, it can
feel like God is ignoring us. But what I told Sarah,
and what I want to share with you, is that
God's silence is never a sign that he doesn't care,
and it's never a sign that he's not working.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
It's just that sometimes his work.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Happens in a way that we don't understand, in ways
that we can't see right now. And so I also
told her that, you know, while she is in the
wilderness of confusion and loneliness and fear for her marriage,
she gets to decide who she wants to be on
the other side of it, and so she can walk
around with you know, self rejection and anxiety as her identity,
(05:41):
or she can take back power from her thoughts and
her circumstances and teach her brain resilience and self esteem
and self worth independent of what's going on in her
relationship or her relationship status. And so that's what she
ended up doing. Like that was her version of using
her free will to do her part and take action
while she surrendered the rest to God to sort out.
(06:04):
But because she's human, she also wanted to know, like,
come on, God, when are you going to answer my
prayer or at least give me some clarity so that
I can move forward. But again, God's silence is never
a sign that he's not working. It's just that sometimes
his work happens in ways that we don't understand or
just can't see right now. It reminds me of what
(06:25):
we see in the Book of Isaiah, where in Isaiah
fifty five it says, for my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
And so that scripture always brings me back to a
(06:45):
place of humility of recognizing that God's perspective is so
much bigger than mine, and he sees the whole picture
while I only see a tiny piece of it. And
so when we're praying and it feels like nothing's changing,
it's not that God isn't answering. It's that his answer
is part of a bigger plan that we might not
be able to grasp yet. But again, it becomes a
(07:08):
question of while you're waiting, or while you're working on
your marriage or waiting for that job, or praying for
your future romantic partner, or you know, praying for renewed
health or restored finances, whatever it is that you're praying for,
who do you want to be while you're waiting?
Speaker 2 (07:23):
And who do you want to be in every air
of your life?
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Because even if one air of your life feels out
of control, how you show up in your life, in
the rest of your areas of life and in your
circumstances every single day, that's.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
The one thing that you can influence.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So coming back to what's really going on when it
feels like your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling and
coming right back at you, here are some practical steps
you can take. So coming back to what it's really
(08:00):
going on, when it feels like your prayers are bouncing
off the ceiling and coming right.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Back at you. Here are some practical steps you can take.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Step one recognizing that silence doesn't mean absence. And so
the first thing we have to get clear on is
that God's silence is not his absence. And just because
you don't feel him moving or seeing things changing, doesn't
mean that he's not there. And so sometimes God is
working behind the scenes and preparing your heart or preparing
(08:30):
your circumstances, or preparing the people around you for something
that's coming. But maybe it's just not time yet. And
so think of it like planting a seed. Like when
you put a seed in the ground, you don't see
anything happening for a very long time, right, and so
you water it, you tend to it, you make sure
it's getting sunlight, but you don't see any growth, And
(08:50):
it doesn't mean that nothing's happening. It just means that
all of that growth is happening beneath the surface and
it's only a matter of time before breaks through. And
it's the same way with our prayers. And so sometimes
God's working in the soil of your life and nurturing
something that's going to sprout later on.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
But if we keep digging up the seed to check.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
On it, we can disrupt the whole process. And so
if you're in a season of silence, take heart like
trust that there's something growing beneath the surface, even if
you can't see it yet. And so I want to
bring us back to another piece of scripture that beautifully
illustrates this idea, where in Psalm twenty seven fourteen it
says wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart
(09:35):
and wait for the Lord.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
And there's such.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Wisdom in that, even when it's hard, right, But the
waiting is not passive. It is an act of faith
and of being strong and taking heart while you wait,
because in the waiting God is often doing his deepest work.
Step two is understanding that the weight is part of
God's love for you. And so I know that the
(10:00):
word weight can feel like a four letter word that
you hate. And you know, we don't want to hear it.
We want our prayers answered now, and we want the
healing now, and we want the solution now.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
But what if weight is actually God's.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Loving answer to you, And so what if he's saying, like, hey,
I'm not giving you this right now, because I love
you too much to give you something that you're not
ready for. And what if he's saying, like, I'm protecting
you from something that you can't see, or I'm preparing
something better for you that's just not ready yet. And
so I had a client, Beth, who was praying so
hard for a new job, and she was in a
(10:36):
toxic work environment. She was, you know, feeling undervalued and overwhelmed,
and you know, she just wanted out. And so of course,
you know, we had to work on the self image
and her anxiety and the nervous system and the way
she was valuing herself even when she felt undervalued, and
then all of the food and body coping mechanisms that
came alongside it. Like that's the kind of work that
we were doing. But in the midst of that, like
she was applying for jobs left and right and praying like, God,
(10:59):
please op a door for me, Please get me out
of here. But every door seemed to slam shut, right,
and it felt like God wasn't hearing her. That's at
least how she felt. And so here's what happened. A
few months later, a new position opened up in her
same company, and it was one that was a perfect
fit for her. It had better pay, a healthier environment,
(11:21):
like a different boss, so she wasn't reporting to the
same person, and the opportunity to work with.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
People that she loved. And so here's the thing.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
If God had answered her prayer with a yes right away,
she would have left the company and never had the
chance to step into this amazing new role. And that
season of waiting was definitely painful, but it was God's
way of saying, like, I have something better in store
if you just trust me. And so if you're in
a season of waiting, instead of seeing it as a punishment,
(11:52):
try to see it as an expression of God's love.
And it doesn't mean He's ignoring you. It might just
mean he's protecting you or prepare something even better than
what you're currently asking for. And that's where we get
to look to Scripture again for guidance and some reassurance.
And in Romans eight twenty eight it says, and we
know that in all things God works for the good
(12:15):
of those who love Him, who have been called according
to His purpose. And so even when the answer is
weight or not yet, we can trust that God is
working all things out for our good. Step three when
God's answer is no, and why that's okay. So this
is a tough one because sometimes God's answer isn't yes,
(12:36):
or maybe it's weight, or sometimes it's just a no,
like the door closes. And that is a hard pill
to swallow, right because it feels like rejection, and it
feels like God, why would you say no to this?
Like it's not a bad thing, I'm not asking for
something crazy, like why wouldn't you just say yes? But
here's what I want you to remember. God's no is
not a rejection of you. It is a redirection. It's
(13:00):
not a rejection. It's a redirection. It's a way of saying,
I have a different path for you and a different
blessing for you, and it's not this. And it doesn't
mean he loves you any less, and it doesn't mean
you're being punished. It just means that his plan is different.
And So I had a client, Tina, who struggled with
infertility for years and she prayed and prayed for a child,
(13:22):
but every pregnancy test just kept coming back negative and
it was devastating for she and her husband, and she
felt like God was closing his ears to her pain,
like that's just how she felt. But what happened next
was something none of us could have predicted. And so
after a long, painful journey of acceptance, you know, really
walking through that process of acceptance, Tina and her husband
(13:43):
decided to adopt. And this is something they were not
thinking about before. And that adoption process was also along road,
and it had so many setbacks and heartbreaks and ups
and downs. But one day they got a call and
a baby boy needed a home. And when she held
that little boy in her arms for the first time,
she told me Leanne, like, now I understand, this is
(14:04):
the child God had for me all along.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
This is my baby, right.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
And God's no to a biological child was never a rejection.
It was always a redirection to her true calling to
be the mother of this precious boy. And his know
was his way of leading her to the family He'd
always plan for her. Step four, finding peace in the
know and in the wait. And so this is also hard, right,
(14:31):
But like, how do we find peace when God isn't
answering what we want? Right? And so it starts with trust,
trusting that God's love for you is bigger than your
circumstances and trusting that He is for you, not against you,
and trusting that his plan is better than anything we.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Could dream up for ourselves.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And that's hard, isn't it, Because it means letting go
of control, and it means surrendering the outcome to him
and saying okay, God, Like, even if you never answer
this prayer the way I want you to, I'm still
going to trust you and I'm still going to believe.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
That you are good.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
And so if you're in a season where it feels
like your prayers aren't working, I want to encourage you,
like God is listening and he's moving in ways that
you can't see right now, and his silence doesn't mean
that he's not there, and his waiting or telling you
to wait doesn't mean that he doesn't love you, and
his no doesn't mean that you're not enough or that
(15:28):
you're being punished. Sometimes his answer is no because he's
leading you to something better. And sometimes his answer is
to simply wait because he's protecting you or preparing you
for what's to come. And sometimes the greatest act of
faith is just trusting him when you don't understand and
trust me, I'm taking this lesson for myself, right and
(15:49):
like when it doesn't make sense and when the answer
isn't what you want it to be, the greatest act
of faith is trusting him. So thank you so much
for being with me today. And I hope this message
just brings you some sort of comfort or some clarity
or most of all, just like peace. I want it
to bring you peace when you're feeling really unsettled in
this waiting or if you feel like you're getting a no.
And if it did bring you peace, if it did
(16:10):
speak to you, I'd love if you just share it
with somebody who might need to hear this message too,
and really so we can keep reminding each other that
God's answer, whether it's a yes or a no or
a wait, it is always always rooted in His love
for us.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
So thanks for being here, see you next time. Bye.
We'll be back with more what's God got to do
with it?
Speaker 1 (16:33):
But in the meantime, I would definitely love to hear
from you, So just tell me where you are in
your story or maybe what questions you have, like where
do you feel you need clarity or support or wisdom
in your own journey? I definitely want to hear from you,
So head on over to What's God Got to Do
with It? Dot com and scroll down to the form
(16:54):
to share your thoughts, your questions, your feedback, and you
can do that instantly. So What's God Got to Do
with It? Dot Com You'll find all the ways to
do that.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
And if you like this podcast.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
And want to hear more, go ahead and follow, like,
and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts to get your
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Speaker 2 (17:13):
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Speaker 1 (17:15):
Single Tuesday, and while you're there, be sure to rate
and review to show your support.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
It really means so much.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
What's God Got to Do With It is an iHeartRadio
podcast on the Amy Brown Podcast Network.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
It's written and hosted by
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Me Leanne Ellington, executive produced by Elizabeth Fozio, post production
and editing by Houston Tilley, and original music written by
Cheryl Stark and produced by Adam Stark
If you want to go on a journey.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
If you're skeptical, don't worry.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Now here to preach. Want to keep it clean and
talk to me and recall where faith meets starts nature.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Get in touch with your creator with a bacon, love
and jew She even speaks Hebrew. What's that gotzato? What's that?
Speaker 1 (00:37):
This?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Well sabosation?
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Should talking transformation?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
What's that got toto?
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Hey?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
And welcome back to what's God got to do with it?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And today we're tackling a topic that I know is
probably weighed heavy on the hearts of so many of us.
And I'm talking about those times when it feels like
our prayers are falling on deaf ears, and you know,
we're pouring our hearts out to God asking for something
with all the faith we can muster, and it seems
like nothing is happening. And so maybe you've been there,
(01:10):
maybe you're even there right now, and you're on your
knees praying for God to step in and move in
a situation that feels unbearable to wait any longer for
resolution on but all you're getting is silence. Or you're
praying for clarity, for direction, for a breakthrough, and yet
you feel just as lost and stuck as you did before.
(01:31):
And so if you've ever found yourself crying out, like, God,
why aren't you answering me? Why aren't you showing up?
Then this episode is for you, my friend, because I
want to shed some light on what might be happening
during those silent seasons, and the seasons when God's answer
might be weight or even gulp, I know the answer
(01:52):
might be no, right, And so let me just start
by saying I get it. I've been there too, and
I know what it's like to wrestle with that frustration
to wonder if maybe you know I'm praying wrong, or
if I'm somehow being punished or The thing I used
to really identify with was this belief of like, does
God help and support the answers and you know, answer
(02:13):
the prayers.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Of everyone else, but just not for me.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
And so I've been in those places where I've questioned, like, God,
do you even hear me?
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Are you even listening?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
And so today we're going to talk about why it
sometimes feels like our prayers aren't working and what it
means when God's answer isn't a yes right away or
even ever, and.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
We're going to unpack how to navigate.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
Those tough seasons of silence when you're left waiting, or
when you're faced with a no or what feels like
a no.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Because here's the thing, just because God's.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Answer isn't what we want or when we want it,
it doesn't mean he's not listening. It doesn't mean that
he's not moving on your behalf, or that he's somehow
withholding his love or goodness from you. It just means
that there might be a different answer in store, one
that's hard to see from where you're standing right now.
So let's dig in and let's talk about what's really
(03:07):
going on when it feels like your prayers are bouncing
off the ceiling and coming right back at you. So
first I want to share a little story with you,
and it's about one of my stressless eating clients that
I was working with, and her name's Sarah. Now, as
you're probably starting to understand if you've been listening to
my podcast for a while, the majority of the work
that I do with women ironically has very little to
(03:29):
do with food, right It's about all of that stuff underneath.
It's in their heads, their hearts, and of course their
brains and nervous systems. And so now I don't run
a faith based program per se, but if my clients
have a connection and a relationship with God, you better
believe I'm going to invite them to invite God into
the work that we're doing from day one when it
(03:51):
comes to food and their bodies, because you can't have
a self image and identity conversation without God if God
is a part of your life. And so Zarah came
to me in tears one day, just saying, like, Leanne,
I've been praying and praying for God to help my marriage,
and I've been asking him to change my husband's heart and.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
To restore the connection between us.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
And now by this point she was also now clear
that this was one of the big reasons that she
was using food to fill voids of, you know, sadness
and loneliness and rejection. And we one thousand percent worked
on all of that. But she's also like got to
that point where it's like, Okay, Leanne, it's been months,
and if anything, things have gotten worse with my husband,
why isn't God answering that side of my prayers? Right?
(04:34):
And so my heart absolutely broke for her because I
could feel the desperation and the pain in her voice,
and maybe you can relate to that. Maybe it's not
about marriage, you know, but maybe you've been praying for
your own breakthrough in some area of your life, or
your health, or your finances, or maybe even praying for
someone you love to find healing or for a door
to open that just keeps staying shut. And when we
(04:57):
don't see that breakthrough, when when we don't see the
healing or the restoration or the open door, it can
feel like God is ignoring us. But what I told Sarah,
and what I want to share with you, is that
God's silence is never a sign that he doesn't care,
and it's never a sign that he's not working.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
It's just that sometimes his work.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Happens in a way that we don't understand, in ways
that we can't see right now. And so I also
told her that, you know, while she is in the
wilderness of confusion and loneliness and fear for her marriage,
she gets to decide who she wants to be on
the other side of it, and so she can walk
around with you know, self rejection and anxiety as her identity,
(05:41):
or she can take back power from her thoughts and
her circumstances and teach her brain resilience and self esteem
and self worth independent of what's going on in her
relationship or her relationship status. And so that's what she
ended up doing. Like that was her version of using
her free will to do her part and take action
while she surrendered the rest to God to sort out.
(06:04):
But because she's human, she also wanted to know, like,
come on, God, when are you going to answer my
prayer or at least give me some clarity so that
I can move forward. But again, God's silence is never
a sign that he's not working. It's just that sometimes
his work happens in ways that we don't understand or
just can't see right now. It reminds me of what
(06:25):
we see in the Book of Isaiah, where in Isaiah
fifty five it says, for my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
And so that scripture always brings me back to a
(06:45):
place of humility of recognizing that God's perspective is so
much bigger than mine, and he sees the whole picture
while I only see a tiny piece of it. And
so when we're praying and it feels like nothing's changing,
it's not that God isn't answering. It's that his answer
is part of a bigger plan that we might not
be able to grasp yet. But again, it becomes a
(07:08):
question of while you're waiting, or while you're working on
your marriage or waiting for that job, or praying for
your future romantic partner, or you know, praying for renewed
health or restored finances, whatever it is that you're praying for,
who do you want to be while you're waiting?
Speaker 2 (07:23):
And who do you want to be in every air
of your life?
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Because even if one air of your life feels out
of control, how you show up in your life, in
the rest of your areas of life and in your
circumstances every single day, that's.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
The one thing that you can influence.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
So coming back to what's really going on when it
feels like your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling and
coming right back at you, here are some practical steps
you can take. So coming back to what it's really
(08:00):
going on, when it feels like your prayers are bouncing
off the ceiling and coming right.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Back at you. Here are some practical steps you can take.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Step one recognizing that silence doesn't mean absence. And so
the first thing we have to get clear on is
that God's silence is not his absence. And just because
you don't feel him moving or seeing things changing, doesn't
mean that he's not there. And so sometimes God is
working behind the scenes and preparing your heart or preparing
(08:30):
your circumstances, or preparing the people around you for something
that's coming. But maybe it's just not time yet. And
so think of it like planting a seed. Like when
you put a seed in the ground, you don't see
anything happening for a very long time, right, and so
you water it, you tend to it, you make sure
it's getting sunlight, but you don't see any growth, And
(08:50):
it doesn't mean that nothing's happening. It just means that
all of that growth is happening beneath the surface and
it's only a matter of time before breaks through. And
it's the same way with our prayers. And so sometimes
God's working in the soil of your life and nurturing
something that's going to sprout later on.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
But if we keep digging up the seed to check.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
On it, we can disrupt the whole process. And so
if you're in a season of silence, take heart like
trust that there's something growing beneath the surface, even if
you can't see it yet. And so I want to
bring us back to another piece of scripture that beautifully
illustrates this idea, where in Psalm twenty seven fourteen it
says wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart
(09:35):
and wait for the Lord.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
And there's such.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Wisdom in that, even when it's hard, right, But the
waiting is not passive. It is an act of faith
and of being strong and taking heart while you wait,
because in the waiting God is often doing his deepest work.
Step two is understanding that the weight is part of
God's love for you. And so I know that the
(10:00):
word weight can feel like a four letter word that
you hate. And you know, we don't want to hear it.
We want our prayers answered now, and we want the
healing now, and we want the solution now.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
But what if weight is actually God's.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Loving answer to you, And so what if he's saying, like, hey,
I'm not giving you this right now, because I love
you too much to give you something that you're not
ready for. And what if he's saying, like, I'm protecting
you from something that you can't see, or I'm preparing
something better for you that's just not ready yet. And
so I had a client, Beth, who was praying so
hard for a new job, and she was in a
(10:36):
toxic work environment. She was, you know, feeling undervalued and overwhelmed,
and you know, she just wanted out. And so of course,
you know, we had to work on the self image
and her anxiety and the nervous system and the way
she was valuing herself even when she felt undervalued, and
then all of the food and body coping mechanisms that
came alongside it. Like that's the kind of work that
we were doing. But in the midst of that, like
she was applying for jobs left and right and praying like, God,
(10:59):
please op a door for me, Please get me out
of here. But every door seemed to slam shut, right,
and it felt like God wasn't hearing her. That's at
least how she felt. And so here's what happened. A
few months later, a new position opened up in her
same company, and it was one that was a perfect
fit for her. It had better pay, a healthier environment,
(11:21):
like a different boss, so she wasn't reporting to the
same person, and the opportunity to work with.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
People that she loved. And so here's the thing.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
If God had answered her prayer with a yes right away,
she would have left the company and never had the
chance to step into this amazing new role. And that
season of waiting was definitely painful, but it was God's
way of saying, like, I have something better in store
if you just trust me. And so if you're in
a season of waiting, instead of seeing it as a punishment,
(11:52):
try to see it as an expression of God's love.
And it doesn't mean He's ignoring you. It might just
mean he's protecting you or prepare something even better than
what you're currently asking for. And that's where we get
to look to Scripture again for guidance and some reassurance.
And in Romans eight twenty eight it says, and we
know that in all things God works for the good
(12:15):
of those who love Him, who have been called according
to His purpose. And so even when the answer is
weight or not yet, we can trust that God is
working all things out for our good. Step three when
God's answer is no, and why that's okay. So this
is a tough one because sometimes God's answer isn't yes,
(12:36):
or maybe it's weight, or sometimes it's just a no,
like the door closes. And that is a hard pill
to swallow, right because it feels like rejection, and it
feels like God, why would you say no to this?
Like it's not a bad thing, I'm not asking for
something crazy, like why wouldn't you just say yes? But
here's what I want you to remember. God's no is
not a rejection of you. It is a redirection. It's
(13:00):
not a rejection. It's a redirection. It's a way of saying,
I have a different path for you and a different
blessing for you, and it's not this. And it doesn't
mean he loves you any less, and it doesn't mean
you're being punished. It just means that his plan is different.
And So I had a client, Tina, who struggled with
infertility for years and she prayed and prayed for a child,
(13:22):
but every pregnancy test just kept coming back negative and
it was devastating for she and her husband, and she
felt like God was closing his ears to her pain,
like that's just how she felt. But what happened next
was something none of us could have predicted. And so
after a long, painful journey of acceptance, you know, really
walking through that process of acceptance, Tina and her husband
(13:43):
decided to adopt. And this is something they were not
thinking about before. And that adoption process was also along road,
and it had so many setbacks and heartbreaks and ups
and downs. But one day they got a call and
a baby boy needed a home. And when she held
that little boy in her arms for the first time,
she told me Leanne, like, now I understand, this is
(14:04):
the child God had for me all along.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
This is my baby, right.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
And God's no to a biological child was never a rejection.
It was always a redirection to her true calling to
be the mother of this precious boy. And his know
was his way of leading her to the family He'd
always plan for her. Step four, finding peace in the
know and in the wait. And so this is also hard, right,
(14:31):
But like, how do we find peace when God isn't
answering what we want? Right? And so it starts with trust,
trusting that God's love for you is bigger than your
circumstances and trusting that He is for you, not against you,
and trusting that his plan is better than anything we.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Could dream up for ourselves.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And that's hard, isn't it, Because it means letting go
of control, and it means surrendering the outcome to him
and saying okay, God, Like, even if you never answer
this prayer the way I want you to, I'm still
going to trust you and I'm still going to believe.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
That you are good.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
And so if you're in a season where it feels
like your prayers aren't working, I want to encourage you,
like God is listening and he's moving in ways that
you can't see right now, and his silence doesn't mean
that he's not there, and his waiting or telling you
to wait doesn't mean that he doesn't love you, and
his no doesn't mean that you're not enough or that
(15:28):
you're being punished. Sometimes his answer is no because he's
leading you to something better. And sometimes his answer is
to simply wait because he's protecting you or preparing you
for what's to come. And sometimes the greatest act of
faith is just trusting him when you don't understand and
trust me, I'm taking this lesson for myself, right and
(15:49):
like when it doesn't make sense and when the answer
isn't what you want it to be, the greatest act
of faith is trusting him. So thank you so much
for being with me today. And I hope this message
just brings you some sort of comfort or some clarity
or most of all, just like peace. I want it
to bring you peace when you're feeling really unsettled in
this waiting or if you feel like you're getting a no.
And if it did bring you peace, if it did
(16:10):
speak to you, I'd love if you just share it
with somebody who might need to hear this message too,
and really so we can keep reminding each other that
God's answer, whether it's a yes or a no or
a wait, it is always always rooted in His love
for us.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
So thanks for being here, see you next time. Bye.
We'll be back with more what's God got to do
with it?
Speaker 1 (16:33):
But in the meantime, I would definitely love to hear
from you, So just tell me where you are in
your story or maybe what questions you have, like where
do you feel you need clarity or support or wisdom
in your own journey? I definitely want to hear from you,
So head on over to What's God Got to Do
with It? Dot com and scroll down to the form
(16:54):
to share your thoughts, your questions, your feedback, and you
can do that instantly. So What's God Got to Do
with It? Dot Com You'll find all the ways to
do that.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
And if you like this podcast.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
And want to hear more, go ahead and follow, like,
and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts to get your
weekly dose of What's God Got to Do with It?
Speaker 2 (17:13):
New episodes drop every.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Single Tuesday, and while you're there, be sure to rate
and review to show your support.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
It really means so much.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
What's God Got to Do With It is an iHeartRadio
podcast on the Amy Brown Podcast Network.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
It's written and hosted by
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Me Leanne Ellington, executive produced by Elizabeth Fozio, post production
and editing by Houston Tilley, and original music written by
Cheryl Stark and produced by Adam Stark
Host
Leanne Ellington
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