November 30, 2003

Unanswered Prayer

O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done. —Matthew 26:42

Have you or a friend been afflicted with an illness for which there is no medical cure? Has God denied your repeated requests for healing? Has His refusal to say yes caused you to question His purpose?

An article by Carol Bradley tells us about the wisdom of Craig Satterlee, a seminary professor in Chicago. He has been legally blind since birth, with only 20 percent of normal vision. Does he complain, saying that God has not kept His promise to answer prayer? By no means! He believes wholeheartedly that God has given him something even better.

"I am whole," he testifies, "even though I am legally blind." If introduced as a believer in the power of prayer, he graciously explains, "I don't believe in the power of prayer. I believe in the power and presence of God, so I pray." He adds, "We know that God brings light out of darkness, life out of death, hope out of despair. That's what Scripture teaches us."

Prayer isn't the way to get God to do whatever we want. It's an expression of our trust in His power, wisdom, and grace. No matter what we ask God to do for us, we are to have the attitude of Jesus, who said, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will" (Matthew 26:39). —Vernon Grounds

I know not by what methods rare,
But this I know—God answers prayer;
I leave my prayers with Him alone,
Whose will is wiser than my own. —Hickok

God's answers are wiser than our prayers.

Thank you, Rus, for the devotional message.

Jesus was an unusually cheerful person, but he was not a blind and unreasoning optimist. His constant word of exhortation was, "Be of good cheer." He could maintain this confident attitude because of his unswerving trust in God and his unshakable confidence in man. He was always touchingly considerate of all men because he loved them and believed in them. Still he was always true to his convictions and magnificently firm in his devotion to the doing of his Father's will.

May we remember this, and ever strive
to weave this into the fabic of our days.

We thank You, Lord, for Your life lived
that we might come before Our Father
and receive His mercy and Grace!

Amen.