Photo from Pathways to God

I have been thinking a lot about prayer lately and why some are answered and others seem to not receive an answer, or at least not the expected one.  The Bible exhorts us to pray, we do, and then we are discouraged when we don’t receive the answer that we expect.  Some even get angry at God for not sending the desired answer.  In this last week, I have seen a good friend go into the hospital for a routine surgery and is now in the ICU in critical condition.  Are people praying for her?  Yes! She is a valued and well-loved member of our small church family.  Yet we are not seeing the improvement in her condition that we are consistently praying for.  I have been praying for an online friend and her husband; he was in a motor vehicle accident.  He just passed away last night.  Finally, I have been praying for my sister who was diagnosed with macular degeneration.  She called railing at me last night because her prayers (and mine) are not being answered since she was told yesterday that the disease has spread into her other eye now.  I have to humbly admit that I don’t have all of the answers.  I know that God does His will on the earth and sometimes (oftentimes, dare I say), it is not the result that we hoped or prayed for.  As I prayed last night, God showed me a vision of a marionette and told me very clearly that He is not one.  So, why am I still praying?  Because the Bible tells me to.  When Hezekiah was told that he would die imminently, he turned his face to the wall and prayed.  God heard his prayer and added fifteen years to his life.  What if Hezekiah had just said, “Okay!  That’s it!  Now I’m upset with God about leading me to death, so I’m just going to roll over and die.”  That is not what He did.  He prayed and seemed to change God’s mind about his imminent destiny.

Photo from What Christians Want to Know

I am trying hard now to keep my eyes on God, not on the circumstances, just as the great Oswald Chambers encouraged us to do.  Jesus knew the agony of unanswered prayer in a very real way, and He was the Son of God.

When Jesus faced death on the cross, He prayed for God to take away that “cup” of suffering.  But He also prayed for God’s will to be done.  That is what I am having difficulty doing, letting go and letting God make the final decisions about everything.  But, like Jesus, I know that this is what I must do.  (Photo from Patheos)

Photo from Patheos

This is the Scripture that I am leaning on.  God’s will for me is to give thanks no matter what the circumstances are and to continually pray.  God doesn’t promise to be the puppet on the end of the string, moving the way I want at any given time.  He has a whole world to take care of, and I am thankful to know that He is my Heavenly Father.  I am disappointed and discouraged when my prayers are not answered the way I want, but I am being told in my spirit that they are being answered the way that is best in the end for all concerned.  That is a hard thing to understand, so I will have to continue to think about that as I go through the days ahead, continuing to pray in spite of the prayers that I have not seen answered in my way.  After all, there is my way and then there is God’s way.  I am thankful that sometimes these two paths intersect and I hope to one day merge my will with God’s but I am not there yet, and I have to trust that God knows what He is doing. Jeremiah 29:11 tells me that God’s plans are better than I can even imagine.  My mind and life are finite; He is infinite and He knows all things.  So, my trust needs to be in Him.  “For I know the plans I have for you, “ declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)

Photo from DailyVerses.net

Back to a previous scripture.  This photo shows a shipwreck, with the boat torn apart.  That is my life sometimes and probably yours.  But I take note that even though the boat is on its side and in a real mess, it is on the shore.  It is safe!  That is what I am believing as I pray for my friends and family, that God will take us safely to the shore, no matter what the storms of life may be.  Death is a problem.  Critical condition in the hospital is a problem.  Slowly going blind is a problem.  But none of these things takes God by surprise!  He is always in control, in the same way that He was there when His Only Son was crucified for us.  That is not what the disciples and His followers thought would happen, but Jesus knew that it was coming and was prepared to suffer for us and give us the gift of our ultimate salvation.  I can only pray that my prayers will line up with God’s will and that He will answer in love, giving all involved the hope to continue on life’s journey or to be with Him in Heaven.  I hope that you will join me in prayer, no matter what is happening in your shipwrecked life.  Let God be God!  He is always worthy and He always knows what He is doing!