A NO

 One way to be sure you get a "no" in answer to a request is to not ask at all.  We can get so negative about a situation that we make not even this effort to better it.  I used to say, "I won't do something," and then do it anyway.  Then one day I asked God to help me.  And the answer was "Yes!"  God did help me to stop doing what I could not stop on my own.  We need help in doing positive things and avoiding negative things, but we never ask for help.  The ego says it can manage alone.  Or we live a delusional life.  So I find it is better to ask, and then see what happens.  Life on life's terms does not mean we have to go it alone.