{"id":150805,"date":"2009-12-15T16:08:46","date_gmt":"2009-12-15T14:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/espirited.com\/god-heard-my-prayers\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T13:55:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T11:55:21","slug":"god-heard-my-prayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/espirited.com\/en\/god-heard-my-prayers\/","title":{"rendered":"On Learning to Accept \u201cNo\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I do not know the author of the text below, but I am grateful that it was written and that I can share it with you.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked God to take away my pride,
and He said, \u2018No.\u2019<\/strong>
He told me that pride is not taken away;
it is something one must let go of.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I asked God to heal my daughter,
confined to bed by her condition,
and He said, \u2018No.\u2019<\/strong>
He told me that her soul is whole<\/strong>,
and her body is only temporary.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I asked God to give me patience,
and He said, \u2018No.\u2019<\/strong>
He told me that patience is the result of trials<\/strong>
and is not given, but earned.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I asked God to grant me happiness,
and He said, \u2018No.\u2019<\/strong>
He said He gives blessings<\/strong>,
but whether I am happy is up to me.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I asked God to spare me from pain,
and He said, \u2018No.\u2019<\/strong>
He told me that suffering separates a person
from worldly concerns and brings them closer to Him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I asked God to give me spiritual growth,
and He said, \u2018No.\u2019<\/strong>
He told me that the spirit must grow on its own<\/strong>,
and that He only prunes it<\/strong>,
so that it may bear fruit.<\/p>\n

I asked God to give me everything
so that I could enjoy life,
and He said, \u2018No.\u2019<\/strong>
He told me that He gives me life<\/strong>,
so that I may enjoy all things.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I asked God to help me love others
the way He loves me.<\/strong>
And God said: \u2018Now you finally understand
what you should be asking for\u2026\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

I asked God to give me strength,
and He sent me challenges<\/strong>
to make me strong.<\/p>\n

I asked God to give me wisdom,
and He sent me problems<\/strong>
to think about day and night.<\/p>\n

I asked God to give me courage,
and He sent me dangers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I asked God to give me love,
and He sent me people in need of my help.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I asked God to give me prosperity,
and He sent me opportunity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I did not receive anything I asked for as a gift.
But I received everything I needed.<\/strong>
God heard my prayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

One sentence in this poem is especially precious to me:
\u201cI asked God to help me love others the way He loves me.\u201d<\/strong>
We are used to associating divine love with unconditional love, but if we look at everything God refused to give to the one who was praying, a clear conclusion follows: if we want to love others the way the Higher Power loves, we must also learn to say \u201cNo.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a post from the \u201cgames of synchronicity.\u201d
If it has reached you now, perhaps it is because you are learning to say \u201cNo\u201d<\/strong> to those you love.
Or because you are learning to accept \u201cNo\u201d<\/strong> as an answer from life \u2014
and to turn limitations into steps of spiritual growth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kameliya Hadzhiyska<\/em><\/p>\n

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I do not know the author of the text below, but I am grateful that it was written and that I can share it with you. \u201cI asked God to take away my pride,and He said, \u2018No.\u2019He told me that pride is not taken away;it is something one must let go of. I asked God […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":149683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[646],"tags":[671,653],"class_list":["post-150805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spiritual-intelligence","tag-alchemy","tag-how-changes-happen"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t