Luke 10:38-42
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
If there is one complaint about God, that I hear often, it is that God does not seem to answer all of our prayers, sometimes important prayers. This concern is compounded by Jesus’ very own words, that tell us that if we ask for anything in his name, God will give it to us. So, what about the healing of my loved one; and what about giving me good weather on my vacation; and what about making my retreat inspiring and refreshing; and what about helping our sport’s teams win: and what about helping me become a little more successful, and what about sending St. Peter’s more members and what about helping St. Peter’s with their finances? Does God answer these prayers? I’ve barely scratched the surface of the things that we ask for, in prayer. that don’t seem to always get answered.
Common sense will tell us that it is not reasonable for us to expect to get everything that we pray for and with that in mind, consider that while we are praying for the Phillies to win, there are Pirates, Dodgers and Washington and Atlanta and Mets fans praying for the Phillies to lose. Likewise, when we are praying for good weather, others are likely praying that that front that brings rain will go away from them and maybe it will then go our way so that they, not us, will have good weather. Sometimes I wonder, when it comes to questions of healings and our church doing well, what might be the conflict. And then I think of the old joke involving a man stranded on the roof of his home during a flood praying for God’s help and I wonder are we sending away God’s help, like the man sent away the boat and helicopter, expecting just a miracle. It happens! I know of a situation where a person suffering from anxiety, was sent to a doctor for anxiety medicine, but when the doctor offered him a prescription, he told the doctor that he didn’t need it. God does not always answer prayers by way of miracles; God sometimes sends us a boat, or a helicopter or a doctor with a prescription. This we never want to hear, but could it be that sometimes God’s healing, takes our sick loved one, away from the suffering of this world into the presence of the Lord God himself, to a new and healthy life. As for the church the Holy Spirit is not ignoring our pleas for increased membership and stronger finances, the Spirit has given us the gifts and the wealth to make these things possible; the Spirit has readied the soil, in the hearts of the unchurched, and they are waiting for us to share the word of Jesus; the Holy Spirit has put the gift of generosity in our hearts and we are those who are hesitating to use it.
And then there is this, we do not always agree with the answers to our prayers that God gives to us, even when we know the answer to be the best thing for us and those who are around us. In today’s Gospel reading Martha asked Jesus, “Lord do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing, Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Martha’s request, her prayer, if you like, was not a bad one, but Jesus’ answer was clearly a “no”. It clearly shows us that God will not give us everything for which we ask. God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit listen to our prayers and they seek within our hearts, and then give us then what is best for us, sometimes we receive one thing instead of what we want. And because we want only what we want, we do not see God’ wonderful plan for us, we do not accept all that God gives and does for us.When I spoke with the person disappointed by the retreat, we established that there were some great learnings and opportunities given, that the retreat did not provide what was asked for from God, but maybe provided something or some things much better. It seems that God is constantly answering our prayers within the patch work quilt of our lives, that it is as much a puzzle as it is a straight forward answer. Sometimes God sends us a boat instead of a miracle, sometimes a helicopter and sometimes a doctor.
So, where does this leave the whole question of prayer? Does God answer some of our prayers? Does God answer all of our prayers? Does God sometimes answer with a “no”? Or does God not answer prayer at all? They say hind sight is 20/20. Looking back, I can see the hand of God in so many of your lives, helping you, caring for you, healing you, comforting you, strengthening you and bringing you opportunities for joy. Looking back, I know that God has answered many of my prayers and many of yours. (So) How about you? Can you see the hand of God answering your prayers? Look back at your lives, at the worst and the best of what life has thrown at you. Look at those moments when you received a kind word, a gentle hug, a squeeze of your hand, maybe a slight miracle, a smile, a helping hand, or something spectacular happened, done by someone nearby or was it God’s work?
Consider also this, in the moment that Jesus said no to Martha; Jesus wasn’t just saying “no” he was also helping her to see the importance of other things, pointing her in a way that would make her life better. I’ve certainly asked God for things that would not have been good for me, that I did not get, and if I look past my dissatisfaction, I will see that I was the better because of God’s “no”. If you are honest with yourselves, I think you will see this also in your lives. But don’t get me wrong, along with the great answers to our prayers there are times when it seems no answer came; I’m not going to try to explain these away, only to encourage you to look for God in those occasions, he may be there. As for your unanswerable questions, hold on to them until you are face to face with your Lord and Savior.