WWJD By Dr. Richard Youngblood
Question:
I’ve been praying everyday for a friend who has cancer, but he doesn’t seem to
be getting better. What good does it do
to keep praying?
Situations
like this are very discouraging, and they can severely challenge the faith of
even the strongest believer. The words
of many of the Psalms demonstrate that this is not a new problem. Believing saints of past generations often
cried out in anguish as did King David: "Hear my prayer, O LORD, listen to
my cry for help; be not deaf to my weeping” (Psalm 39:12). But no matter what
happened, they refused to stop believing.
Through their prayers somehow they knew that a righteous God knew what
was happening and would take the appropriate action at the right time.
However, Jesus provides us the best
possible example of continuing to pray and trust in God in face of whatever may
come upon us in this world. The
night before he was betrayed and crucified, Jesus entered the garden called
Gethsemane with his chosen disciples.
After instructing them to pray that they would not fall into temptation,
he went a stone’s throw from them, knelt and prayed, “Father, if you are
willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke
22:42). He repeated this prayer three times. The Gospel of Luke says he prayed so
earnestly his “sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke
From this we should understand that prayer is a way to submit ourselves to God’s will instead of a means to impose our wills upon him. God answers our prayers out of his wisdom rather than our ignorance, and for the long-term good rather than for our immediate satisfaction or desires. As much as we think we know what is best, our ability to know all the foreseeable problems or benefits is extremely limited. Only an infinite God can know these things. Had not Jesus submitted to God’s will in death on the cross, our sins would remain unforgiven, and we would have no hope of a resurrection from the dead someday.
Your concern for the life of your friend can
bring a sense of desperation. Desperation
prayers often assume that nothing good can come from sickness, poverty or
death. The Bible affirms that even death
does not separate us from the love of God (Romans
Don’t stop praying for your friend. God is listening. Your friend may not survive, but no matter what happens you can count on the Lord to help his loved ones to get through this. You may be wonderfully surprised by what can happen.
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