Jesus' Temptation in the Wilderness in Matthew 4:1-11 gives us a peek at Satan's playbook. Satan allures us with the desires of the flesh (I want to FEEL that), the desires of the eyes (I want to HAVE that), and the pride of life (I want to be KNOWN for that). This is how Satan tempted Jesus, and this is how the enemy attacks us. We respond by running to the cross in faith, knowing we belong to Jesus.

Matthew 2:13-23 continues the story of the Wise Men from earlier the chapter. They find themselves in the middle of a political assassination plot as the king they visit allows fear and power to dictate his decisions. He decides to eliminate all of the two-year-old-boys in Bethlehem, the city where Jesus was born. While that story transpires, God is writing a different story. In the night, an angel appears to Joseph to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt. After some time, and after Herod dies, an angel appears to tell him to return to the region of Judea. However, in a dream, God warned him to not go back to Bethlehem or Jerusalem but to settle in Nazareth.

At every movement, God protected His promise to save humanity through Jesus. Despite many attempts to thwart Him, God was victorious in keeping young Jesus alive so that through his life, eventual death, and resurrection, anyone who trusts in Him would be saved. God was in the middle of the mess, because not only did He protect His promise - He worked in mighty ways like this before. At every movement in Matthew 2, God was careful to confirm that He would lead His people from slavery to freedom. God is also careful to guide our stories to shape us and make us more like Him.

Have you ever felt like your prayers hit against Heaven like a wall? This past Sunday, we looked at 9 reasons why we may be unavailable to hear from or speak to God. Often, we talk to God with our own selfish agenda, thinking we know better for our lives. Other times, we hold onto our sin. We can also ignore the needs of others and that diminishes our connection with God.

There is hope for us when we trust in God's ways over our own. We must come to the place of acceptance of this attitude, turn from it, and seek to live honestly with God. Then, we will hear God and have a deep relationship with Him.

In this message, we see through Lazarus, Paul’s thorn, and even Jesus in Gethsemane that God’s silence and delays are never indifference, but loving purposes meant to draw us closer and shape us more like Christ. This sermon invites us to trust a good Father who withholds lesser things to give us something greater—not just relief, but himself.

Why does God sometimes feel silent, or answer our prayers with “no”? In this message, we see through Lazarus, Paul’s thorn, and Jesus in Gethsemane that God’s delays and “no’s” are never indifference, but loving purposes aimed at something better. This sermon calls us to trust a good Father who may say “not yet” or “not that” because he is working for our greatest good, conforming us to Christ and giving us himself.

What do we do when God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we hoped? This message reminds us that God is a good Father who only gives good gifts, and sometimes that means saying “no” or “not right now” out of love. We’re invited to trust his wisdom, resist the lie that he’s holding out on us, and believe that what he gives (or withholds) is always for our good.

Prayer isn’t about saying the right words, it’s about coming to a gracious Father through Jesus. This sermon explores what prayer really is, why God sometimes answers differently than we expect, and how God uses prayer to transform our hearts, not just our circumstances.