A guy I know is currently going through what I'd call a "crisis of faith."
He prayed earnestly and with all the belief in him for a certain thing to happen. He honestly believed that not only COULD God do this thing, but that He WOULD do it because - well, because he believed.
It didn't happen.
Now he is far less assured when he prays. I am not sure exactly what his thought process is, but it might be something like this:
God said no. God is all-powerful and He is also good. He can't be at fault for this. So the problem must be me. I must not have enough faith to please Him. I thought I did, but I guess my faith needs work. I can't imagine how this could not have been His will. He always wants to heal, to work miracles... so the problem must be me. What did I do wrong? How can I make it right? Is God dissatisfied with me?
I've been there. I've had those questions. Everyone does at one time or another. And while I don't have all the answers - nobody does except God - there are some things I've learned and I'd like to share them.
1. God always does what's right. Even if we don't understand. Even if it doesn't make sense.
2. It isn't necessarily that we don't have enough faith. He simply chooses to say no. He has that right; He is God.
3. We don't have the right to order God around. He is God. We aren't. We ask; we don't demand. He is the One who has the power and the will to answer.
4. When we read Romans 8:28, ("And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose,") we need to read it in context along with verse 29 because that verse defines the word "good" in verse 28. The ultimate good that God is seeking to work all things together for, is that we are "conformed to the image of His Son." He knows best what will do that. Sometimes that will mean an answer we don't expect, or the opposite of the one we were hoping for.
5. God always answers prayer. "No" is just as much an answer as "Yes."
I believe that we in the Western church have a spirit of entitlement - the idea that God is obliged to do what we want just because we're His kids. If my kids treated me that way (and sometimes they do) I would not be a very happy camper and I might say no just because they were so presumptuous to take my "Yes" for granted.
I'm not saying that God is like that. I'm just saying that God is a Person, not a vending machine. He doesn't operate according to a prescribed formula, and one thing I've learned in my relationship with Him is this: He absolutely hates "being pegged." He will do something differently the next time just so I don't try to reproduce the same conditions that got me a "Yes" the last time. His ultimate goal is conforming me to Jesus' image. That might mean I am in an uncomfortable position for a while, or that someone I love might have to suffer for a while - maybe even a long while. Or worse. And since He knows the end from the beginning, maybe He knows that if I got what I wanted, I might become arrogant - or the person I'm praying for might be worse off spiritually after being healed than before. Maybe they need the affliction to keep them close to Jesus and transform them into His image.
It's His call.
A poem I read once - by L. B Cowman, author of Streams in the Desert, comes to me as I write, and I think that today I will share that poem here as well. It talks about the trials we face every day - the testings, one of which is (of course) the question of "unanswered" prayer. It doesn't mention this specifically but I think the concept Cowman speaks of, is broad enough to encompass this topic as well.
Here is the poem:
He sat by a fire of seven-fold heat
As He watched by the precious ore,
And closer He bent with a searching gaze
As He heated it more and more.
He knew He had ore that could stand the test,
And He wanted the finest gold
To mould as a crown for the King to wear
Set with gems with a price untold.
So He laid our gold in the burning fire
Tho' we fain would have said Him, "Nay,"
And He watched the dross that we had not seen
As it melted and passed away.
And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright,
But our eyes were so dim with tears,
We saw but the fire - not the Master's hand,
And we questioned with anxious fears.
Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,
As it mirrored a Form above,
That bent o'er the fire, tho' unseen by us,
With a look of ineffable love.
Can we think that it pleases His loving heart
To cause us a moment's pain?
Ah no! but He saw through the present cross
The bliss of eternal gain.
So He waited there with a watchful eye,
With a love that is strong and sure,
And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat
Than was needed to make it pure.
He prayed earnestly and with all the belief in him for a certain thing to happen. He honestly believed that not only COULD God do this thing, but that He WOULD do it because - well, because he believed.
It didn't happen.
Now he is far less assured when he prays. I am not sure exactly what his thought process is, but it might be something like this:
God said no. God is all-powerful and He is also good. He can't be at fault for this. So the problem must be me. I must not have enough faith to please Him. I thought I did, but I guess my faith needs work. I can't imagine how this could not have been His will. He always wants to heal, to work miracles... so the problem must be me. What did I do wrong? How can I make it right? Is God dissatisfied with me?
I've been there. I've had those questions. Everyone does at one time or another. And while I don't have all the answers - nobody does except God - there are some things I've learned and I'd like to share them.
1. God always does what's right. Even if we don't understand. Even if it doesn't make sense.
2. It isn't necessarily that we don't have enough faith. He simply chooses to say no. He has that right; He is God.
3. We don't have the right to order God around. He is God. We aren't. We ask; we don't demand. He is the One who has the power and the will to answer.
4. When we read Romans 8:28, ("And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose,") we need to read it in context along with verse 29 because that verse defines the word "good" in verse 28. The ultimate good that God is seeking to work all things together for, is that we are "conformed to the image of His Son." He knows best what will do that. Sometimes that will mean an answer we don't expect, or the opposite of the one we were hoping for.
5. God always answers prayer. "No" is just as much an answer as "Yes."
I believe that we in the Western church have a spirit of entitlement - the idea that God is obliged to do what we want just because we're His kids. If my kids treated me that way (and sometimes they do) I would not be a very happy camper and I might say no just because they were so presumptuous to take my "Yes" for granted.
I'm not saying that God is like that. I'm just saying that God is a Person, not a vending machine. He doesn't operate according to a prescribed formula, and one thing I've learned in my relationship with Him is this: He absolutely hates "being pegged." He will do something differently the next time just so I don't try to reproduce the same conditions that got me a "Yes" the last time. His ultimate goal is conforming me to Jesus' image. That might mean I am in an uncomfortable position for a while, or that someone I love might have to suffer for a while - maybe even a long while. Or worse. And since He knows the end from the beginning, maybe He knows that if I got what I wanted, I might become arrogant - or the person I'm praying for might be worse off spiritually after being healed than before. Maybe they need the affliction to keep them close to Jesus and transform them into His image.
It's His call.
A poem I read once - by L. B Cowman, author of Streams in the Desert, comes to me as I write, and I think that today I will share that poem here as well. It talks about the trials we face every day - the testings, one of which is (of course) the question of "unanswered" prayer. It doesn't mention this specifically but I think the concept Cowman speaks of, is broad enough to encompass this topic as well.
Here is the poem:
He sat by a fire of seven-fold heat
As He watched by the precious ore,
And closer He bent with a searching gaze
As He heated it more and more.
He knew He had ore that could stand the test,
And He wanted the finest gold
To mould as a crown for the King to wear
Set with gems with a price untold.
So He laid our gold in the burning fire
Tho' we fain would have said Him, "Nay,"
And He watched the dross that we had not seen
As it melted and passed away.
And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright,
But our eyes were so dim with tears,
We saw but the fire - not the Master's hand,
And we questioned with anxious fears.
Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,
As it mirrored a Form above,
That bent o'er the fire, tho' unseen by us,
With a look of ineffable love.
Can we think that it pleases His loving heart
To cause us a moment's pain?
Ah no! but He saw through the present cross
The bliss of eternal gain.
So He waited there with a watchful eye,
With a love that is strong and sure,
And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat
Than was needed to make it pure.
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