What do you say to God after He says no? 1 Samuel 5-9

2 Samuel 7:18-22 (NASBStr)

(David’s Prayer after God told him, "NO", you can't build the temple)

 Then David the king went in and sat before the Lord, and he said, “ Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, O Lord God, for You have spoken also of the house of Your servant concerning the distant future. And this is the custom of man, O Lord God. Again what more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord God! For the sake of Your word, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness to let Your servant know. For this reason You are great, O Lord God; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

The above prayer comes on the heels of David being told a solemn, but definite, NO, by God.  The character of the NO can only be truly understood when we understand the character of the request.   The NO came not as a result of David wanting to do evil.  It came on the heels of David being inspired to do something great for God.   Like Paul who wanted to go to Rome to preach the gospel and was hindered, or like Daniel who wanted to return home but was limited to only praying toward Jerusalem, David wanted to build a temple for God and the Ark.   He recognized his own comfort in a house of stone and gold and yet the Ark was dwelling in a tent.  You would think a good desire is always meant with an affirmative YES by God.   I have desired to be in full time ministry since the day I left that world 20 plus years ago.   God, in His grace, has given me some great rain drops of ministry in the past, but constantly said NO to a full return.  My past life failures as a husband and father, perhaps like David, have kept me on the sideline of full time vocational ministry. This is why I am truly amazed by David's heart here.    He was able to bless God and praise God in the midst of a NO.  This is why God can say that David was a man after His own heart.   David didn't care WHO built the temple - he just wanted it built.  He will later, in this section, simply get all the material ready for the temple to be built.  He did what he could.   God has used me in my own life more than I deserve.  He has me, like us all, doing "ministry."  It may not be what we imagined or expected or, like David, desired, but in His marvelous Grace, who is like our God.  He uses us where He will and how He wants.  Our responsibility is to yield to the Spirit in obedience and allow God to work in our lives and use us for His Kingdom the way He wants.