Why is it that when bad things happen after people pray, that the automatic response is "prayer just doesn't work?" Isn't it God's prerogative to say "no"? I always imagined getting into an argument with a Pepsi machine. Can you imagine God talking through a Pepsi machine?
"Hey, gimme a Pepsi."
"No."
"Why not?"
"That's not what you need."
"Who cares about what I need? I want a Pepsi. I put in my fifty cents, now gimme my Pepsi."
"No."
"What, did the price go up? Here, I'll put in another fifty cents. Now gimme a Pepsi."
"No."
"But I need a Pepsi!"
"No you don't, you just want a Pepsi. And I said no!"
"No, I need a Pepsi. If I don't have one, I'll have a horrible headache by day's end."
"You know that's not true. You have headaches because you're stressed out."
"So? What's with you anyway? Why can't you just gimme a Pepsi?"
"Because I know what's best for you."
"Yeah-huh. Sure you do."
"Because I know for a fact that your cholesterol level is at such a dangerous height that one more can of Pepsi buys you a ticket to the ER where the doctors will be attempting to defibrillate your heart into beating again."
"Come on, that's not gonna happen. I've been drinking Pepsi longer than I've been walking. I'll be fine. Gimme a Pepsi."
"No. Have some water instead. It'll clean out your pipes and unclog some arteries."
"Just gimme my Pepsi!"
"No. Why can't you just accept no for an answer and have something else instead?"
"You just don't work, that's what your problem is. You can't give me a Pepsi because you don't work."
"No. I won't give you a Pepsi because I don't want you dead of a heart attack at 38."
"Whatever."
By the same token, I always get uncomfortable when something good happens and it is automatically attributed to the power of prayer. Why can't we just thank God for saying "yes" to our request? By saying that prayer works, what does that say to the person who lost a loved one to cancer, despite their constant prayers for a miracle?
Don't get me wrong: we should pray always and unceasingly, and I'm ashamed to admit that I don't pray nearly as much as I should. But at the same time, credit must be given where credit is due, and the credit for the answer to our prayers ultimately lies with God. Give thanks when He says yes, obviously; it's much harder to do the same when He says no. Unfortunately, God's been saying "no" to a lot of people lately, people to whom I can't imagine Him ever saying "no."
But He does, and what do we do with that? Ultimately, that becomes a great measure of our faith. If we choose to look at God as some kind of cosmic vending machine, we constantly set ourselves up for disappointment. But if we believe that God truly has our best interests at heart, then we can find peace in accepting the "no" as well as rejoicing in the "yes."
Again, the events of the past few weeks have brought that into clearer focus for me. Watching these people of faith carry on with the strength of the Lord as their guide showed me that even though God says "no" to our requests, it's never the end of the world.
In the end, if we can rejoice in God saying "no" as much as we rejoice in Him saying "yes," then we will know true closeness with Him.
Thanks, as always, for reading. Stay warm tonight.
In Him and around the corner (and hoping for some "yes's" of my own),
Al
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1 comment:
Great! Thanks, Al - now I really want a Pepsi!!
There's also this story about a church that didn't want a liquor store put in next to the church. So, they had a giant prayer campaign against it. The day before it was supposed to open, the liquor store burned down. The owner of the liquor store sued the church saying that it was their prayers that burnt the store down.
The church responded that this couldn't be true. The judge reacted by saying that it was the first time that he's ever had to judge a case where the liquor store owner believed in prayer but the church didn't!
Prayer is a conversation with God - not a chance for Him to be our "Holy Concierge"! Sometimes He says, "No..." but watch out... sometimes He says "Yes!"
Good blog - well put!!!!
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