HomeWord - Aug. 31, 2006
Answered Prayers
This devotional was written by Leslie Snyder
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
Psalm 34:4
Below is an excerpt of an email from a friend after his infant daughter’s eye surgery.[1]
Driving home, I was thinking about how difficult the decision was to decide to have the surgery. It is probably the hardest decision I have ever had to make. It is never easy to see someone you love suffer, but it is even harder when that suffering is a result of a decision you made. Looking at her bloody, crocodile-sized tears after the operation nearly broke my heart in a million pieces. But then, after wiping away the tears, and seeing her focus her wee little eyes together on my face and other objects in the room, and seeing the expression on her face, as if she is truly seeing all these things for the first time, made me realize that we had made the right decision. I am sure she doesn't realize why she is experiencing so much pain or why her father, who loves her very much, would take her to this place and let someone cut her. But one day she will.
I wonder if God, in His infinite love, hurts when He sees us hurt. Did He hurt when He made the decision to allow Job to go through so much? Or can He see past that and rejoice at how He knows it will shape us and mold us to become more like His Son? I recall the shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept." Did Jesus weep because He saw how much everyone was hurting?
God healed our precious daughter once while she was in the womb and, for a while, I expected Him to do it again with her eyes. But then, some wise friends reminded me that God’s healing often requires action on our part and this was one of those times.
God answers prayer. It’s not always the way we imagine nor does it come when we think it should. Nonetheless, God does answer prayer. James 5:13-16 reads, “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
[1] Used with permission.
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GOING DEEPER:
1. What keeps you from praying?
2. Approach God today in prayer. Lift to Him your pains, concerns, joys and sorrows.
FURTHER READING:
Matthew 6: 5 -12; Romans 8:26; 1 Thessalonians 5:17
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