Keep praying

 

Good grief!  The Israelites prayed and not only lost the battle to the Philistines; they lost the Ark of the Covenant, the "Ark of God." [1 Samuel 4:1-11]

The leper prayed to be healed, "if you will to do so, you can heal me" and Jesus healed him. [Mark 1:40-45]

What do these two scriptures tell us about prayer?  Is it that God only hears some prayers?  Is it that some prayers are more powerful than others?

No, I don’t think so.  The scriptures tell us to keep praying [1 Thessalonians 5:17].  Keep asking God for help.  We’re dependent on God, and He likes to hear from us. But a good thing to remember is that God moves in God's time, not ours.

The answer to the original question, does God hear our prayers, is definitely yes.  God hears us.  Maybe God chooses not to answer as we ask.  Perhaps there’s something that we can’t see that’s much better for us or for the person for whom we pray.  Perhaps our timing is off.

Maybe better prayers than one so specific, like "Please let my brother’s suffering end", is "give him what is for his good.”  Perhaps praying for the GOODNESS of whomever or whatever is most important.

We have to trust that God hears us and will give us an answer sometime—in His time—and look for the lesson in the ache of the need we pray to be healed.