The handwritten prayer request was heartbreaking in its seeming
impossibility: “Please pray—I have multiple sclerosis, weak muscles, trouble
swallowing, increased pain, diminishing sight.” The woman’s body was breaking
down, and I could sense despair in her plea for intercession.
But then came the hope—the strength that trumps the physical damage and
degradation: “I know our blessed Savior is in full control. His will is of
utmost importance to me.”
This person may have needed my prayers, but I needed something she had:
unabated confidence in God. She seemed to present a perfect portrait of the
truth God taught Paul when he asked for relief from his difficulty—what he
called his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7). His quest for relief turned out
to be not just a seeming impossibility; his request was turned down flat by his
heavenly Father. Paul’s continual struggle, which was clearly God’s will, was a
valuable lesson: Through his weakness, God’s grace could be displayed and God’s
strength was “made perfect” (v.9).
As we pour out our hearts to God, let’s be even more concerned with
seeking His will than we are with receiving the answer we want. That’s where
the grace and the strength come from.
We pray not to obtain our will in heaven,
but to effect God’s will on earth. (RBC)
