“When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back? O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs? Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.” (v1-8)
This short Psalm is a great reminder of our God’s unmatched power (who causes water to flee and mountains to tremble), and His unmatched deeds (freeing Israel from Egypt and giving them a new land).
How many times have I distrusted God by not believing in His power? This isn’t something done consciously, of course. I used to catch myself using tentative language in prayers, saying words like “Lord, if you could please…” or “Father, if possible, please…” Looking at it objectively in light of scripture, the Lord is all-powerful, so wording a prayer to indicate something may be outside of His ability, may be a little insulting to Him.
I think this subconscious habit may have come from “unanswered prayers” – somehow I figured since God “couldn’t” answer my others prayers, there’s a chance He “can’t” answer this one either.
Well, the fault isn’t with God on this one, it’s with me. If God is all-powerful, then He can and will answer prayers. So why doesn’t He?
This verse is a truth bomb: “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” (1 Jn 5:14) God will hear our prayers with one condition: “we ask anything according to his will”. If my prayers are not in alignment with His will, they will remain “unanswered”, or answered unfavorably.
One might then ask “I prayed for healing that didn’t come – how is that against God’s will?” Well, to be honest I can’t satisfactorily answer that question. My initial response, though difficult to understand, is that God allowed something to happen so that His will could be played out in a way we did not understand. I know that God doesn’t allow pointless suffering, there’s always a reason He allows it, we just don’t always see or understand that reason.
His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isa 55:8-9). We cannot always understand why God does or does not answer prayers the way we want Him to. This is where our faith and trust in Him are critical – so we can still believe, even when we can’t understand.
Father God, all honor and praise be to You. As hard as it may be to understand, You don’t always answer prayers the way we think You should, even when we know You have the power to do so. Father please help our understanding, and more importantly, please help keep our faith and trust in You strong. Faith and trust need to transcend understanding, since You cannot be fully comprehended by us. May we be unwavering in our allegiance to You, even when we have questions. Father thank You for being steadfast and for loving us, even when we have doubts. Please help guard our hearts and minds against attacks from the evil one when those doubts creep in, so that our faith in You may be restored. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training