Where does God go when your prayers aren't answered? The easy, careless answer is to say that perhaps He said 'no.' Or to say that your prayer was unrighteous. Perhaps you were praying for personal gain or to harm another person. Those prayers, it is obvious, will not be answered.
But what about the prayers of the righteous? Are they heard? Are they answered? We pray for peace, we pray for relief from suffering, we pray for hope. Are we supposed to cling to our faith as a drowning man clings to a piece of ship wreckage?
What do we do when our hopes are ashes, when we lack the words, when we are defeated? Did we not pray enough? Is our suffering the sacrifice He demands?
Some people believe that God created us and waits for us after death, but He is strictly hands-off in regard to the world. He's the ultimate absentee landlord in their eyes. He's not going to fix the plumbing, the wars, the diseases, etc. It's all up to us, His stumbling tenants. Several of the Founding Fathers -- particularly Thomas Jefferson -- held this view. It's a rational view. It requires little faith.
In fact, the Deist view is only one step away from not believing there is a God at all. Why should we believe in Him? If He doesn't help us -- if we can't put prayers in the slot and get a blessing like He's a theological gumball machine -- what's the point of worshipping Him?
The flaw in this is our supposition that God cares about the things we care about. We want a cool car, a good job, a nice house, and a thousand and one other material things. God doesn't much care about material things. He cares about spiritual things. This is not to say He doesn't want us to have nice things -- after all, He loves us and wants us to be happy, but it concerns Him when material things are what makes us happy. Especially since He knows -- and we should know by now -- material things cannot last.
The hardest thing about this is realizing that our needs -- the ones that we think are so pressing, so important -- may not be very important in the scheme of things at all. God is more interested in our eternity than our now.
Does this mean that He doesn't answer our prayers because they concern things of no consequence? No. Remember, God loves us. He's very indulgent of us. We're like wayward toddlers at a spiritual superstore, wailing for the toys when the Bread of Life is what we need to grow into strong healthy people. But sometimes He gives us those toys because, hey, He would like us to pray about something else for a change.
As I've gone through the turmoil in my personal life these past few days, I've done a lot of praying. Well, a lot of complaining, too. God always has a ready ear when I need to rant and rave. And obviously I will be doing more because my adventure is apparently just beginning. But through it all, when I've prayed, I've been conscious of this one amazing fact: God loves me and will continue to love me. He's going to stay here beside me. I may not get the things I want, but I will get the things I need.
So maybe prayer is really supposed to be an expression of our faith, our belief that God loves us and will never leave us. Maybe prayer was never meant to be another quarter in the slot of a gumball machine god.
Anyway, that's what I'm thinking about today. What are you thinking about?
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3 comments:
I certainly pray for certain things -- like that the house doesn't burn down or for the safety of someone I care about. I pray for the comfort of people who are hurting. I certainly ask God to look out for someone going through a tough time. I send a lot of prayers of thanksgiving and appreciation when things go well for me, because a lot has gone well for me in my lifetime. I'm thankful beyond belief for that.
But I agree with you. There is a spiritual side of things to consider. I love the verse, "pray without ceasing" and I believe that's the spiritual thing and part of that is a standing prayer that God will show me the way and that I'll actually recognize it. I've missed the boat a few times -- and, sadly, I'm sure I'll miss the boat a few more times in my life, because, frankly, I'm just not that good at recognizing the two by four God uses to guide me. But I'll keep trying, and He'll keep nudging.
Nicely said, Jean. And I think "prayers of thanksgiving and appreciation" are greatly needed at times. They remind us of how truly blessed we are to live in the USA. In other countries, the loss of job would literally mean I would face starvation. I would have to go a long time, lose all my friends and family, exhaust all the many resources available to me, before that would be a concern.
I don't think it's easy or careless to say that perhaps God said 'no.' I truly believe that's just the answer sometimes. Sometimes it's 'not yet,' or 'you have more to do on your end first.'
God answers all prayers, period--one way or another.
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