Four ways God answers prayers

"If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." (John 14:14 KJV)

Truly, God answers prayers. He is never weary of listening to our requests, and He is always delighted to meet our needs.

Sometimes when we pray to request for something from God, the answer shows up almost immediately. On other occasions, the answer shows up at a later time. However, we never see answers to some requests.

But why?

It's because of these four different ways God answers prayers--- No. Slow. Grow. Go.

When you ask God for something that you absolutely do not need or is totally out of His will for your life, perhaps due to ignorance or covetousness, He says "No". James 4:3 (AMP) says, "[Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasures."

When what you're asking for is right but the timing is not right, God says "Slow". There's a funny story of a little girl who, whenever she was being dressed up for Nursery school, would cry and say to her mum, "Mummy I don't like this school you're taking me to. Take me to University." Her mum will smile and tell her, " Don't worry dear, you'll go there when the time is right".
Our requests are like that little girl's sometimes. We need to learn to trust God and His timing for our lives, because He makes everything beautiful in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

When your request is right and the timing is right but you are not right, God says "Grow". This is usually because you are not yet able to handle the responsibilities that come with the answer, especially in terms of wisdom and character.
God loves you so much, He will not give you a blessing you can't handle, because "the prosperity of fools will destroy them" (Proverbs 1:32 KJV).
So, He takes you through situations and circumstances that will bring about a transformation in your character, wisdom and overall mentality.

When your request is right, and the timing is right, and you are right, God says "Go"! Then you see the manifestation of your desired expectations and rejoice in His faithfulness.