When He Doesn't Answer

There are so many times in the Bible where God works miracles lightening fast in answer to his people’s prayers, from long-awaited babies and food on the table to bodily healing and situational redemption.

One fine example is the woman in 2 Kings. She was a widow with no means of income and two young sons. She was in debt and her creditor had just shown up and threatened to take her boys as slaves to pay off her debt. When Elijah came to town, she ran to meet him and begged for help. He told her to borrow as many jars as she could from her neighbors and start pouring what little oil she had into them, then sell them. She did, and her few drops of oil were enough to keep her boys safe and get her out of debt.

Because she had faith in God and his prophet, God answered her need immediately. And notice, she didn’t sit idly in her house and wait for Elijah to come to her. She looked for her answer. She did something about the situation. She knew that God’s prophet could do something to help her.

But what happens when we pray in complete faith and nothing happens? What happens with the money we need doesn’t appear out of thin air? Or a kidney disease isn’t instantly healed?

I’m reminded of the woman that met Jesus who had been bleeding for twelve years. Twelve

years! At the point where she enters the story, she had spent all her money on doctors, and we can probably assume that she had tried every weird and wacky remedy they had thrown at her. If she was a good Jew (which is likely), she had probably done her share of sacrifices and prayer, too. But for twelve years, God did nothing.

Then one day, she heard about the guy in town who was healing people. So she sought him out and followed him. She wasn’t supposed to, you know. According to Jewish law, a woman bleeding was considered unclean and was supposed to stay separate from the rest of society, like a leper. She would have been in big trouble had the Jewish authorities found out.

But this Jesus was her last hope. She did it anyways. She pushed through the crowd, and touched his clothes, knowing if she did that simple thing, she would be healed. She didn’t even ask him to lay hands on her and heal her.

So twelve years later, she finally got God’s answer. I believe God made her wait so that she could be an example to us. Her disease had a purpose. Had God healed her within the first year, we wouldn’t have heard her amazing story. It wouldn’t be nearly as dramatic or powerful: a desperate, sick woman who would do anything and risk it all for her  miracle. And her story went down in history—we read about this nameless woman of faith two thousand years later.

And finally, I think of Paul. When I list men in the Bible who had faith, he’s basically at the top of the list. But in 2 Corinthians, he tells us he had been asking God to deliver him from some unknown situation—“a thorn in his flesh”—over and over, and God said “no.”

NO? This great man of faith get a “no” from God? How could that possibly be? We find out in the next verse: God had a purpose. He let Paul’s situation stay so that Paul, in his weakness, would rely on God. A reminder that he couldn’t do everything by himself. To make Paul lean on him and strengthen his relationship with him.

            What can we do when we don’t hear from God right away? Do we harbor frustration and let it turn into bitterness, and turn on God? Then we miss out on the great relationship we could have had with him and nothing gets better.

            Do we get tired of waiting and start looking for our own solution to our problem? Rely on human methods instead of God? Saul tried that in 1 Kings. He literally got tired of waiting for Samuel to make a sacrifice before battle, and was afraid that his med would be too afraid to fight (so he also didn’t have enough faith in God to help them win). So he made the sacrifice himself, and right on cue, Samuel showed up, and he wasn’t happy.

As a result of his impatience, David and his descendants would rule over Israel instead of Saul’s. He got fired. Canned. He missed out on God’s awesome plan because he was too impatient and lacked faith in God’s power.

            So do we get bitter or impatient? Or do we actively seek God and his perfect plan, like Paul and the widow and the sick woman? His answer may not be what we like (who likes to hear the word no? Not my 2 year old, and not me!).

            But whatever our situation and whatever his answer—yes, no, or wait—we have the choice to use it to lean closer to God, to seek him and his plan, to let it grow our faith and love for him. to use our experiences to encourage others—like maybe through a blog about an airheaded mama.

            We do not have a choice in how God answers our prayers, but we each have a choice of how to react to his answer. Lose faith, get impatient and fix it ourselves, or lean closer to him, let our relationship with him flourish, and see his perfect plan at work. The latter may not be easy, but I wouldn’t want to miss out on it.