Letting Go of the Answers

Dealing with pain, sickness and death is an integral part of life and living. For many Christians these issues are somewhat complicated by their theology of health and healing. Often believers are frustrated and discouraged because of long seasons of sickness and pain that sometimes result in more pain and sometimes death. Because they believe so much in healing they stay in denial of the reality of their situation. Their expectations of life just seem to get in the way.

Something that my wife once said has helped me. She said that "healing is a gift". As I reflected on that I began to better understand the dynamics of prayer and healing. If we believe that health and healing are gifts then our attitude (as we pray) should not be one of entitlement but one of humility. We present our need to the Lord and trust Him to give us the appropriate gift ... sometimes endurance, sometimes strength in weakness and sometimes miraculaous healing. Maybe trust is only trust when we let go of the answer to our prayer.

Does this challenge you to pray differently? It does me. So often I focus my prayers on answers and really don't put myself in a place of vulnerability and humility. I come to the Lord knowing what I want. I have a specific answer to my prayer in my mind and really don't want God to answer in any other way. I think that I put myself in a place where I am sitting on God's lap in Macy's department store telling Him what I want.

With a new year coming I want to find a new way to pray ... maybe a new year has nothing to do with prayer ... I want to find that place of trust where I really believe that God will give me the best gift when I come to Him in prayer. Maybe the secret of this kind of prayer is to just talk to God in a non-religious fashion where I am brutally honest with Him and, as a result, myself. Possibly the real idea behind prayer is to connect with Him as you do with a good friend. Maybe by letting go of the answers to our prayers we will really start to believe that our loving God is sovereign in our affairs. Maybe with the Apostle Paul we will be able to say:

"Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size--abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become." (2 Corinthians 12:7-10, The Message)

Amen

10 comments:

  1. Hi, Bob. Amen to this post.

    I came to Christ at the tail end of the Jesus Movement, during the Charismatic Renewal. Perfect health (along with a host of other "name it and claim it" items) was something believers were all supposed to have if they walked in faith.

    Older and wiser now after spending time in desert experiences, I understand that I learn so much more when I am needy and broken before God. Everything that enters my life, I believe, is either caused or allowed by God in order to make me more like Christ.

    One of His best gifts to me in the past year and a half was the classic devotional Streams in the Desert by LB Cowman. I have really grown in understanding of how God uses trials and pain in my life.

    God is good and His ways are just, even when I don't understand why things happen the way they do.

    Robin

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  2. somewhat complicated by their theology of health and healing.

    Very complicated I'd say. I have heard and seen many different experiences, responses and thoughts about it, I am confused myself.

    they believe so much in healing they stay in denial of the reality of their situation

    This is one thing I grapple with ... it is one to have faith and another to identify what to have faith in. Ultimately we all have faith in Christ, and then what?

    ... really don't put myself in a place of vulnerability and humility. I come to the Lord knowing what I want. I have a specific answer to my prayer in my mind and really don't want God to answer in any other way.

    I am with you but in times when we are in the presence of the terminally ill, it is so hard not to know how and what to pray for them. In my own private prayers, I can be honest with God but to say a prayer for the sick aloud in their presence, that is not easy for me. I rarely know what to say. Only to trust in the Spirit to lead and guide what I say.

    in a non-religious fashion where I am brutally honest with Him and, as a result, myself

    I have been doing that - but I found out I have to do it both ways. Because I have been so uninhibited and personal in my privates prayers that I found it hard, so hard, to pray in public :)

    God bless,
    Maeghan

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  4. Thanks for the feedback Maeghan. I am on a prayer team at church where we pray for the sick and, I have to admit, I find it hard to not just jump in and pray healing prayers instead of getting calm before the Lord and wait on Him for inspiration to pray.

    My wife and I were discussing this last night and I have to say that I really struggle to know how to pray differently. When I think about the Lord's prayer I think about concepts like The Kingdom, God's Will, Forgiveness and Daily Bread ... maybe integrating these into my prayer life will help me to refocus.

    Blessings, Bob

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  5. this is interesting, Bob.
    I pray to God as if He were sitting right there. I get uncomfortable when people start praying, "WE CLAIM HEALING FOR SO AND SO IN THE NAME OF JESUS!" This happened the other night. It's like telling God what to do.
    When my mom was ill, I asked God to please either heal her or, if not, to take her quickly, because she was suffering so. This was a point in my life when I turned to Him fully for the first time. The doctors estimated that she would live for a year or so. God was faithful, and took her within days, and peacefully.

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  6. I want to find a new way to pray ... I want to find that place of trust where I really believe that God will give me the best gift when I come to Him in prayer

    I have been reminding myself all week that He has never given me a scorpion. Maybe I have asked for cake, and He has given me bread, but He has never placed a viper in my hands.

    Sometimes I have been really, really disappointed, though. Sometimes the thought that He is letting me contribute to His kingdom in some invisible way is the only consolation.

    Praise the Lord for the search.

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  7. (I've sent a couple emails your way, Bob -- am I doing something wrong?)

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  8. Hi CP .. sent an email your way .. not sure why I didn't get your others? I really echo what you have written about disappointment. Maybe the real meaning of life is just to find small joys and let go of our expectations for the big joys. Appreciate you CP and wish a great 2007 for you!

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  9. Bob--

    Great stuff here. Read Larry Crabb's recent book, PAPA Prayer. I think you'll really like it. I've found it to be quite impacting!

    When we view God as a person that we are in relationship with, everything becomes more real--especially prayer. The best definition of worship that I've heard recently is "simply coming to God...just as you are." We think we're supposed to sound a certain way or ask for specific things or expect to feel like this or that. Instead, we need to just come to God, just like we would to our best friend, and confide in Him and confess to Him and in Him find our life and healing.

    Bless you!

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  10. Hey KB, great post. I want to find a new way to pray too.

    I am so surprised to see my old (well actually he's young...let me re-phrase) my LONG TIME friend BJ commenting here!!! Very cool.

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