To understand what Paul means when he writes that he delights in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties—which are related things—we will use several unrelated things to understand what it means when, in a prayer like Paul's, God says no. We'll be talking a little about national history on this Fourth of July weekend, and, as Americans, there will be just a little baseball story thrown in as well. To drive home this three-point message, we'll also talk a little bit about a Tim Allen movie, Ted Turner, and an inspiring artist named Joni. 

Trust God. This may sound over-whelming but we'll take it one step at a time. First, let us pray. Gracious God, through Paul and this scripture, you're giving us a lesson that we've all wrestled with. Help us hear your words and go forth healed by them. Amen.

It was a night right out of our American history books. Francis Scott Key, along with two other Americans, dined aboard the British ship HMS Tonnant during the War of 1812. All three were allowed to return to their own sloop, but not allowed to return to the city of Baltimore because they had become familiar with the strength and position of the British units and knew the British intent to attack Baltimore. As a result, the author of our National Anthem watched the bombarding of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore on the night of September 13–September 14, 1814.

By career, Key was an attorney but wrote poetry from time to time, often with very religious themes. There, on the water that night, in the dark and in the bombing, he must have done more than just watch, he must have prayed.

We'll hear just a bit more about that night, but tell me if this is true. We love to hear stories about answered prayer. We love that charge when we hear accounts of God's miraculous interventions in people's lives. It motivates us to be more diligent about our own prayer practice. When we hear stories of answered prayer, we become more specific when we pray. We become more motivated when we pray. We become more confident when we pray. We become more emboldened when we pray. And in this rush and this earnest charge, we are absolutely convinced God will respond. We bow our heads; we lift our hands; we are so sincere in our connection to the great "I am"...but in our world where, hello, it can seem like bombs are going off, God...is...silent. As if we're on a foreign and unfriendly ship in the night and when daybreak clears the smoke, what we've specifically, confidently and boldly prayed for does not materialize.

Let's talk for a moment about this. To do so, let's move from ships to Santa.

Many may remember the movie "The Santa Clause" where Tim Allen, after causing St. Nick to fall off of his roof, becomes the new Santa Claus. In that movie, Tim's ex-wife and her new husband both confess that they no longer believe in Santa Claus. At a point in the movie, they share exactly when in their lives they stopped believing in him and what caused it. It was when requests that they had made of Santa were denied. Tim's ex-wife had requested a special doll, and the step-dad had requested a weanie-whistle. When they didn't get what they wanted, they responded by simply closing themselves off to the reality of Santa Claus.

Move from film to non-fiction now. We know cable television mogul Ted Turner, who is now one of the loudest voices criticizing Christianity, said he had a strict Christian upbringing. He even considered becoming a missionary at one point in his life. The Atlanta Journal Constitution quoted him as saying that he was saved seven or eight times in his life. But he said he became disenchanted with Christianity when, despite his prayers that she would get well, his sister still died.

We know there are going to be times that God says "no" to our prayers. No matter how much we've sacrificed or endured for the cause of Christ, no matter how earnest we are, or how desperate, the answer is 'no'. Ask Paul. Our passage today reveals a specific but not identified affliction such as malaria, epilepsy or, in Galatians 4:13-15, a disease of the eyes. He endured a lot. While we don't know Paul's chronic and debilitating ailment, we do know this 'thorn' hindered his ministry.

This scripture is here today because Paul is an example of one who accomplished a great deal for God. He started many new churches, wrote portions of the Bible for us, and trained young pastors and missionaries. But even for him, there were times when heaven was silent.

How are you going to respond when God says no in your life? How are you going to make it through? Let's answer these questions. Today, let's focus on three Christ-honoring responses that you can make a part of your life when you face one of those times when God says "no" to your heart-felt desire.

Here's the first. Treat trials as a gift from God. Paul experienced a thorn in the flesh, and this weakness made him strong. With God's help, he gained strength out of his weaknesses. See, we have choices. Problems either keep us down, or make us strong.

Some are thinking, "Trials are a gift? No, thank you. Like a Christmas present in the movie we talked about, I'll just keep my wrapped." But that doesn't work because, as Ted Turner will tell you, we are not promised a trial-free life.

See that you have options. Through this scripture lesson, see that trials make us strong in that they drive us to deepen our faith in God. That deeper faith gets us through anything. Listen. When faced with a struggle or a loss that you just can't seem to recover from, God, the three-in-one, can respond with what we've heard in verse nine. "My power is made perfect in weakness." My power, God is saying, is made perfect in your weakness.

When God chooses not to use His power to alleviate the pain, trust God's power to see you through the pain. Treat trials like a gift.

That was first. Here is the second. Pray again.

Our reading today says Paul prayed for his situation to end not once, not twice, but how many times? That's right. Paul prayed to God three times for his affliction to end. Here a biblical literalist might have a tough time and, like anyone with intelligence should do, read into the scripture and come to some pretty solid footing that Paul, more than likely, prayed more than just three times.

We pray multiple times. Because we don't get the answer to the prayer we've prayed doesn't mean we should just stop. No, persevere. Keep that prayer—and with your wisdom and your intelligence in tact—continue your quest. Don't give up. The journey of prayer, as we know, is one worth taking. It's one worth having because it's the connecting tool we have toward a personal relationship with Christ Jesus.

Yes, keep on. Yes, persevere. And realize, full well, that your prayer may, in time, change. If God says no, maybe you're not asking the question you should be asking.

Here's a story to illustrate. I've heard this story in a song and later through Charlie Grimes and, as many know and many more I pray will come to know, he is one who shares his faith with us. God bless him, he is one who opens his Christ relationship to us.  And yes, we're a family here, and yes, the spirit of God is here, and yes, as our bulletin says that its ministers are all the people. This church is one where we minister to one another.

Okay, the story. A boy is all alone in the middle of a baseball field. It's close to dinner time and he'll need to get home soon. Here in the quiet of the empty field at twilight, he takes his baseball and throws it up into the air in the hopes of connecting with it and sending it on out of the park. The ball comes up and the ball comes down and he swings and the ball comes tumbling to the ground. Strike one. He does it again. The ball comes up and the ball comes down and he swings and the ball comes tumbling to the ground. Strike two. He does it again. The ball comes up and the ball comes down and he swings and the ball comes tumbling to the ground. Strike three. He was praying for a homerun, right? With that bat clutched so tightly in his hand, wouldn't that have been his prayer?

He leaves the field in shock and disbelief because, he says, even I didn't know I could pitch like that.

Hold onto your prayer that is answered no. Keep it. Focus it. Hold it. Maybe, as we see here, you will need to change it. You may need to see your prayer from a different perspective. For the Ted Turners out there, it's still a prayer to our God who's always present. That baseball fell to the ground, but God, the one of love, does not let us down.

So, to review, the first two Christ-honoring responses that can make a part of your life when you face one of those times when God says "No" to your heart-felt desire is to treat trials as a gift, and pray again.

Lastly, serve God right where you are. You want God to change your situation, but did you ever think that God has put you in that situation to use you right in the middle of it? Don't ask God to change things until you've looked for and found how you can minister in or be changed by the circumstance that you face. God doesn't do anything without a reason.

A young woman named Joni had her life forever changed one day. She was diving with some friends and misjudged the depth of the water. She hit her head when she went in and broke her neck. She was just a teenager. And now, she was destined to live her life as a quadriplegic. She could have given up. She got mad at God and the world for a while. But then God did a great work in her life. She took up art. She began to draw and paint. How could she do that, you ask? She does it by placing the pencil or paintbrush in her mouth and using it to produce great artwork. She has broadened her ministry now. She has produced music and has written books. Did she pray for God to heal her? I'm sure that she did. God said, "No". Instead, He is using her "disability" to bring glory to Himself and encouragement to other people.

Serve God where you are. Everyone can do something, even if, the bare minimum is a lasting look in someone else's eye and a touch on the shoulder. Serve God where you are by embracing the ability you have to be a wounded healer. When you treat the trials of your life as a gift, a gift that broadens and deepens your personal relationship with Christ, you do not lose, you gain.

Treat trials as a gift from God. Pray again, and again, even if, in time, that prayer means changing direction, or perspective. And serve God. Serve God right where you are. But some say, I've done my part here. It is someone else's turn. Bologna. Commit fully, or recommit more fully, to this living, breathing 24/7 church. Paul didn't give in or give up or consider his work complete. He committed his life to Christ.

Based on his published work, Francis Scott Key must have committed his life to Christ. Like Paul, he treated trials like his time on that British ship as a gift from God. He must have prayed again and again on the night of that terrible bombing, and some of the prayers he prayed must have met the answer no. But, after twenty-five hours of warfare where 1,500 British bombshells were launched, he did what Paul in this text is asking you to do: even when the answer is no, find strength in your weakness and serve God where you are.