Q: I know you’ve said that God sometimes answers our prayers with a “no”—but if that’s the case, then why bother to pray?

A: Yes, it’s true that God sometimes says “no” to our prayers—and with good reason, because He alone knows what is best for us. Just as a loving parent sometimes says “no” to their child’s demands, so our loving God sometimes says “no” to our demands.

But sometimes God also says “yes” to our prayers—and that’s certainly one reason why we ought to keep on praying! But we don’t pray only to get things from God. Not only would this be s...