The God Who Answers Prayers

The God Who Answers Prayers

By Joel B.

2 Cor 12:5-9 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Many times people struggle with the idea of pain and suffering. They cry out to God and wonder if their prayers for healing are being answered. The truth is, God answers each and every prayer. Sometimes He just responds to us like He responded to Paul and his thorn in the flesh. He simply told Paul to look to His grace and find strength within Him to get through his struggles. This wasn’t to punish Paul, but rather to help strengthen him by humbling him. And in Matt 5:5, we are told by Jesus that there is an inheritance for building such character.

What God offered Paul was much greater than healing. He offered him His grace, His strength, and a better future. You see, we need to find our rest in Christ. This doesn’t mean God won’t heal us, but we may need adjustments to our character as well; just like Paul needed to be humbled so that he did not glory in himself. God knew Paul’s needs better than Paul knew his own needs. That it why it took three times until the Lord finally told him that His grace was sufficient for him.

Friends, there will be a day when there will be no more suffering or tears. There will be a day when we all experience perfect rest before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. However, until then we need to trust in the Lord even when we are struggling and not question whether He is answering our prayers or not. The truth is, God always answers prayer, we just do not always get the answer we would like. We get the answer that is best for our situation when we continue to include God in the equation. Remember this verse:

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

So, lets find our rest and our strength in Christ. Lets trust Him to answer our prayers as they need to be answered, and not necessarily as we would like them to be dealt with. Let’s pray for God’s will first and foremost and believe that He cares about us. You may find that stepping out in faith may just lead you down a better path than the one you were asking for. Thank you for reading and God bless.