We recently heard a sermon from one of our preacher interns, Paul. He was speaking to us about Luke 8:40-56, the story of Jesus being asked to heal Jairus’ daughter from illness. While on the way to cure her, Jesus is approached by a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for 12 years. This encounter stops Jesus momentarily on his journey to Jairus’ house, and in the meantime, word is sent that Jairus’ daughter has died. In the moment of bringing healing to one person, another life is lost. It seems as if Jesus chose one over the other, one woman gains her life back while another loses hers.
The story doesn’t end at this moment however, as Jesus continues towards Jairus’ house, despite the news of his daughter’s death. When Jesus gets there, He brings her back to life. This short section of Luke feels like an emotional rollercoaster- sadness, joy, fear, grief, and happiness as we follow the brief timelines of two women. Jesus cured both of them of their afflictions even if it may have been in a different order than expected.
In his lesson, Paul said something I have been thinking about. He focused on the idea that Jesus is never late in answering our prayers and He does not abandon us while we wait for resolution. Yet, we often interpret the wait as silence, perhaps even as being ignored. We think of God having a quota of prayers He can fulfill and once that is met, all other prayers for the same thing will be denied. If Jesus answers my friend’s prayer for a new job, a new house, or healing, can He also answer my prayer for the same thing?
I think we often get caught in this mindset. In this life, there are limits. There is only one position available at this company, items sell out at stores, capacity is reached at concerts. Some people get in and others don’t. Truthfully, many things are in short supply or in the worst case, scarce. This is a real problem on earth. There is great news though, God’s goodness does not have limits. As long as we are faithful and obedient to Him, He will bless us richly. Maybe it won’t be with fancy cars or a big house but with the promise of heaven, we may have eternal life with Him.
In the frustration of waiting, when someone else “gets” what we have been praying for, we may find ourselves feeling like our prayer has been passed over. We limit God in our minds into having to “choose” between our prayer or the prayers of others. Perhaps this is how Jaruius felt when the woman was healed and his daughter died. Maybe he wondered, if Jesus hadn’t been stopped along the way, would He have made it to my house in time for my daughter to be spared? Do we feel like God is late when our situation drags on over weeks, months, or years without change? How do we hold steady in our faith of God’s goodness and deliverance for us when our pleas don’t get a tangible response?
When I am in a season of waiting, actively petitioning God to answer my prayers, here are three sections of scriptures I turn to for encouragement. These passages help remind me God hears my prayers and is working, even when I can’t see immediate results.
The Sermon on the Mount helps give us understanding on how Jesus wants us to live. One section I often come back to is Matt 6:25-34. This text reminds us God cares for all living creatures and we should have faith He will care for us too.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matt 6:25-27 ESV
God loves us. He loves all of His creation! He will not abandon or forsake us at any time! If He is able to provide for all of his creation, down to the flowers and the birds, we can be confident He will provide for us as well. Jesus’ words remind us we are seen and known, we are not floating aimlessly about the earth. We are seen by God and He will provide for us.
Jesus continues and reminds us there is no value in feeling anxious. If He can nurture the flowers, shouldn’t we believe He can also nurture for us?
“And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” Matt 6:28-30 ESV
If you are not familiar with Solomon, He was a son of King David. God came to him in a dream and offered to give him anything he asked for. Solomon asked God for wisdom. Pleased with his request, God gave him “both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days” (1 Kings 3:13). Solomon was greatly and richly blessed by the Lord and yet, Jesus tells us God will provide us with even more than he gave to Solomon! When we can not see the solution we are praying for coming to fruition and doubt creeps in, we must remind ourselves God has promised us more than we can comprehend. God is a gracious giver and we must continue to press on, even when we are waiting.
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matt 6:31-34 ESV
Continuing to talk about feeling anxious, Jesus reminds us God sees and knows our needs. It is easy to get caught up in daily tasks and think about how we alone are going to solve the problems this life throws at us. Humans crave control and we are often able to fool ourselves into thinking we have it. Jesus helps us prioritize what is most important in our lives- serving Him. Everything else will follow after that. He also gives us very practical advice about taking life one day at a time and not getting ahead of ourselves. For those of us who like a good plan (ahem), this is a reminder to slow down, to look up vs. looking forward. Whether we like to admit it or not, we don’t know what the future will hold but God does. We should give our worries to Him and trust He will deliver us through the challenges of life.
When I need a reminder that God is working in my life and the difficulty I am facing is not in vain, I often think of Romans chapter 8:26-28.
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:26-28 ESV
God has given us the Holy Spirit to help us when we are in a challenging situation. We may experience grief we cannot express in words or an event so stressful we don’t have the mindspace to figure out the next step. A hurt so deep, we don’t know what to ask for. In these moments, we are not alone. God has given us the Holy Spirit as a helper to comfort us and help us communicate to God. Knowing the Holy Spirit will “intercede” (vs. 27), work on our behalf, we can take a deep breath and know we have help in our petition to God. It is important to note, the Holy Spirit can not bend God’s will to an outcome we prefer, there is no strong arming God. However the Holy Spirit will make our needs known to our loving God.
In verse 28, we are given confirmation God is using our trials for good. It may not be our definition of good because hardships often involve suffering, pain, and loss. God has promised us many things in this broken world but never the promise of a conflict, painfree life. I know for myself, it can be incredibly difficult to find goodness in a storm. Sometimes, ashamedly, it is hard to see God when I feel lost at sea. Often it is only in hindsight I am able to see how He has delivered me, His mercy along the way. God is all seeing, all knowing, and He does not make mistakes. He is using every hard time to further His work. He wants us to grab onto Him when life feels unsteady instead of white knuckling our way through alone.
Finally, I find great comfort in Ephesians 3:16-20, especially verse 20. I would recommend reading the whole book of Ephesians, a letter Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, and chapter three, verse twenty is the verse I cling to when life doesn’t make sense and prayers feel like they aren’t being heard.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” Eph. 3:20 ESV
God is so much bigger and so much greater than we can comprehend. He can make the impossible possible. Through Jesus He gave the blind sight (John 9), made the lame walk (Luke 5), and fed over 5,000 people with scraps of food (John 6). We have also discussed how He healed a woman with a bleeding condition and raised Jairus’ daughter for the dead (Luke 8). These are a small sampling of the miracles performed to show the power and goodness of God. These miracles show us what God is capable of, what He can do for those who love and believe in Him. We may not see these types of miraculous healings today and we can all think of a time when we were in need of rescue and God was there. If I look closely, I can see His deliverance in my life, showing me He is listening. Waiting for my prayers to be answered does not mean God has not heard them. It does not mean He has run out of whatever I am asking for, even when my cries feel like they aren’t being heard. He cares for me and He cares for you too.
I am thankful for Paul’s message that Sunday night and for helping me see there is a blind spot in my faith. Without realizing it, I put limitations on God’s ability to answer my prayers. In my mind, He could only give good things to some while the rest of us end up with leftovers. Paul helped remind me God doesn’t have limits. He can richly bless all of His followers, in different ways and on different timelines. It is not necessary for us to understand when or how, just have a steadfast faith. God does not want sacristy for us, He wants abundance. And He will provide it, in His way. May we never lose hope in our petitions to God.
