God created us with intelligence and the ability to reason and we must train ourselves to understand that we can ask Him “why” about things that happen to us—especially the terrible things. Dr. Pat Briney gave me some excellent insights about praying in his book, PRAY: HOW GOD ANSWERS EVERY PRAYER. He wrote:
He [God] has answers and explanations for our questions. We may not always like the answers, but I believe that, since they come from God, they are always the best answers.
In Isaiah 41:20–21, God explains that He does things “That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.”
God wants us to understand Him and to reason with Him. Obviously, we cannot know the infinite mind of God, but we can learn and know what is important. We have the ability to discover, to learn, and to apply knowledge. Though there is vastly more to learn about Earth, the oceans, and space, we nonetheless have learned enough to make life more comfortable than it was a hundred years ago.
With every discovery, we are amazed at the new applications that are possible. So then, although we can never know very much about an infinite God, we can still know enough about Him to make important decisions. God wants us to understand Him. He wants us to understand the world we live in. He wants us to present our reasons to Him and to compare notes. He made us this way. He made us to be intelligent and thoughtful, to ask Him questions, and to learn.
This passage really, really, stopped me dead in my tracks. It never really occurred to me that when tough trials knock me on my booty, it’s presenting me with an opportunity to better understand God, the world I live in, and my purpose for existing. That’s a game-changer on how to respond to suffering!
Prayer gives us a total arsenal against pain and suffering.
The problem with most of us is—we don’t pull the arrows of prayer because we’re too busy blaming the ONE we should be praying to, or—we’re just feeling sorry for ourselves. You can’t wallow in sorrow on a battlefield for very long or—you’ll get shot down.
Do you feel shot-down by your pain?
The Bible commands us to “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) This COMMAND totally makes sense because—from the day we are born to the day our body dies—we are on a spiritual battlefield!
WE can talk with our Heavenly Father with confidence because—when we pray for His will—He hears us, and ALWAYS answers our prayers.
“This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
I John 5:14-15
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