02.11.21—Unanswered Prayer!--2 Chronicles 20:6
My friend, may I ask you a question? When you pray how do you feel about yourself? Of course we all know that humility is required in prayer. God doesn't respond to pride. Yet, how wormy, or low-down ought we to be?
My friend, life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day.
I’m M. Clifford Brunner
I'm married to a nurse. Nurses, for the most part, are pretty pragmatic when it comes to pain. They deal with pain on a daily basis so they tend to view pain differently than say a truck driver, or a mechanic or, me, for example. Since Holly not only deals with patients, she deals with patients just coming out of surgery in pain, you might say that pain is pretty much the core of her day. When I'm in pain, as I was recently when I slipped a disc in my lower back, I don't get a whole lot of sympathy from Holly. Her job is to manage pain, not sympathize with it. So, that is my lot as well. While sympathy is really not an option for her, care is primary. She made sure throughout my recovery that I didn't lift what I ought not to lift. My morning walks were restricted and the exercise room was off-limits for weeks.
You might say that nurses aren't "wormy" about pain. They don't grovel around in it like I might do at times. They treat it with respect and deal with it in a humble yet aggressive way; a great example of how Christians ought to deal with the challenges of life, especially when it comes to unanswered but well-aimed prayers.
Here's a story: The story is told of the famous inventor Samuel Morse who was once asked if he ever encountered situations where he didn't know what to do. Morse responded, "More than once, and whenever I could not see my way clearly, I knelt down and prayed to God for light and understanding." Morse received many honors from his invention of the telegraph but felt undeserving. He maintained a humble approach without groveling, worming in glory: "I have made a valuable application of electricity not because I was superior to other men but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, must reveal it to someone and He was pleased to reveal it to me." (Tim Hansel, Eating Problems for Breakfast, 1988, pp. 33-34.)
When you pray how do you feel about yourself? Of course we all know that humility is required in prayer. God doesn't respond to pride. Yet, how wormy, or low-down ought we to be? Is prayer a groveling in the presence of a God who needs to be convinced of our need? Or, like Morse, ought you and I to be assuming a position of humility that never gets in the way of an aggressive approach to knowing what needs to be done and Who, from a divine perspective, is capable of doing it? I believe that God deals with our prayers as Holly deals with my pain. He is mindful of our hurt; but His number one concern is sound healing on a perfect, divine timetable, not just a comforting word and a placebo of momentary grace. You might say that God is not "wormy" about dealing with our prayers. And, if we truly want God to hear our prayers, we ought not to be "wormy" about how we present them. Healing beats sympathy every time.
We pray. Heavenly Father. We ought to be humble as we deal with success and failure in our lives. Help us so that our humility never gets in the way of an aggressive approach to knowing what needs to be done and, from Your perspective, is capable of doing it? We believe that You deal with our prayers always mindful of our hurt; but with the number one concern that sound healing on Your perfect, divine timetable, not with just a comforting word and a placebo of momentary grace, will occur. Forgive us when we falter Lord. We know that You are always bold about dealing with our prayers. And, if we truly want You to hear them, we ought to present them boldly as well. Healing beats sympathy every time. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen!
Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.
If you have a special prayer request, please send your request to "This Passing Day!"
<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.