Praying
“16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks
in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ”
God is a ready source of strength and foundation to stand upon in the midst of a storm. Yet how do you talk to the God who you know can heal all wounds and keep anyone from harm but does not? We pray to God for healing when He could have kept the bad thing, like cancer, from ever existing. Praying in the midst of a crisis is both essential and confounding. When you have a child with an illness, how do you lead your family in this confusing truth?
You pray.
I admit it is much easier to pray if you are a person who has made it a “habit” to pray. We continue to speak to the God we knew in the light even though all may be dark. Continue the habits of prayer in your personal and family life. He is the same God no matter the circumstances. But your current circumstances often do not make it easy. Staying connected is exactly what you need for you and your family.
Starting to pray because a difficult thing has happened is still a good idea. Many people have begun a new or renewed relationship with God because of a tragedy. God is good to meet us wherever we look for Him. He is the difference maker so seek Him.
What do you pray? It depends but the bottom line is you don’t have to hide your heart from Him. If you are angry, be angry. If you are sad, let the tears flow. Please don’t pretty yourself up. Please don’t try to straighten up your life or heart before you pray. He wants us as we are not as we think we should be.
Pray the truth. Confess what you know about God. Confess what you know about your heart. Confess you do not know all about who God is and what God is doing. Confess you do not know all what is going on inside your heart or inside your own head. Truth is the spark that brings light into the darkness.
When do you pray? In 1 Thessalonians 5, we have the goal to be in constant communication with God. A good way to stay connected is setting aside times you commit to focused prayer. Checking in at major parts of the day.
Begin and end the day with prayer. Who made the sun rise? Who caused the rain to fall? The faithfulness of God is new every morning. End each day with prayer. You made it! Unpack your concerns and cares before His throne as you begin to rest. Thank Him for the strength and energy to breathe one more day.
Another foundational place is before every meal. Be grateful for the meal you probably did not harvest from the soil you did not plant. God has provided. When we take for granted our daily nourishment, we lose context by which we seek a God who has given much.
Finally, ask for God to do what only God can do. Speak your faith out loud to your family. Tell them the truth about where our hope lives. And if your faith is weak, tell God and your family that as well. We don’t call these times tough for no reason. Family needs you to be present, not pretending.
Pray for and with your children as you put them to bed. Remind them that the one who keeps our heart beating while we sleep is the same God we need to make a difference for your sick loved one.
How will He heal our loved one? I pray specifically with imagination. I prayed many times with Josiah that God would reach in and remove the tumor like removing a splinter from a foot. Or God blasting, bit by bit, the tumor so it would die more each day.
Risk praying prayers that may get answered “no”. Let them know you expect God to do what God can do: heal anyone who is sick. Imagine out loud God removing what should not be there or bringing to light so that the doctors can see the path forward.
Here is an example of what an instance that happened from the medical blog:
January 13, 2016
My 6 year old praying before dinner, “Thank you God for the good things we have. Thank you God for the bad things we have. And we will always trust you…” Did I tell you how active my tear ducts have been lately?
Life is full of struggle and success. Seeing too much success can lead quickly to pride and a false sense of self. Seeing too much of struggle can lead quickly to depression and a false sense of self. I believe only by trusting in God and having Him guide us through the struggle and success in life can we know our true self.
We lived through a time where we had too much to handle. So we gave it to the Giver. It was hard to discern what was success and what was the struggle. So the good, bad, and yes, the ugly all went to Him.
And it still does. He is still here. Do you trust Him?
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