No!

It doesn't take children long to learn the word no. I guess they hear it so often. Parents say no. Siblings say no. Grandparents say no. Uncles and aunts too. Teachers say no. Coaches say no. Principals say no. Police officers say no. Bank lenders and car lenders say no.

No. What does it mean? No means to express a negative response or to be in disagreement. What about when God says no emphatically. You pray about something and God responds negatively. He disagrees with your request.

Abraham was getting old. God promised he would be the father of a great nation. Sarah still had not given birth to any children. Sarah hatched up a plan for Abraham to marry a servant girl named Hagar. Hagar got pregnant and gave birth to a son named Ishmael. This created high drama between Sarah and Hagar. Abraham was caught in the middle.

On top of that God kept telling Abraham he would be the father of a great nation. Abraham wanted that to happen through Ismael. Here is how God responded. Genesis 17:18-19 (ESV) 
¹⁸  And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!”
¹⁹  God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

Abraham had what he thought was a good idea. It was not a God idea. God said no. It looked impossible for Sarah to ever get pregnant. Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born and that would put Sarah at about 77. We learn that from [Genesis 17:16]. 13 more years were to pass before Sarah got pregnant at the appointed time. Despite both their old ages God worked and a miracle came through as He said He would.   

Maybe you are trying to figure some things out on your own. Maybe you have a plan and God told you no. You can pout. You can ignore the no and rebel. You can make things worse for yourself. Or you can trust that God's no only means He has a better yes planned. I choose the latter.