Why Does He Seem To Ignore Some Prayers?

I’ve got a confession to make.

Yesterday I felt a little hurt and angry with God.

I’ve already confessed it to Him.  Today I just want to share about it with you.

Have you ever been mad at God?  Have you ever just felt hurt and disappointed with Him?

I sure hope I’m not alone.

A few days ago, I sat in a woman’s prayer group and experienced an instant and wonderful healing.  I don’t throw thinks like that around lightly.  My back had been hurting a lot and was hurting when I arrived and after prayer it was pain free.  I was rejoicing – so happy to be able to walk and sit and turn and feel none of the usual pain and discomfort.  I breathed ‘Thank you Jesus’ over and over through the next few hours and days.

Then… the next night I felt a little numbness in my toes on one foot.  And the next day the numbness spread up into my lower leg and there was a dull pressure.

I immediately prayed over it.  I thanked God for healing my back and prayed for healing of the nerve that was probably being aggravated at the moment.  I prayed and prayed.  I pulled out scriptures on healing and prayed through those.  I thanked God again for the healing in my back and believed He would take care of the symptoms in my leg.

But… it seems like He didn’t.

That day the numbness continued and increased.  I started to have trouble moving my foot and stumbled a few times while out shopping.  I continued to pray about it.

The next morning… things changed.  The numbness turned to intense pressure and pain.  Hour by hour the pain got worse and I started to get really worried.  I prayed.  And I prayed.  And I prayed.

And I got upset.

God, why when you responded to quickly to prayers for my back – do you now seem to be ignoring my prayers about my leg?

No answer.

It hurt a LOT.  Seriously a Lot.

A big dose of Ibuprofen didn’t help.  No position of rest helped.  The pain intensified until I was wiping tears away.  Finally, I decided to go to the hospital for help.

I drove in to town – crying openly.  I felt so let down by God – and I was telling him so.

Why?  Why?  It would be so easy for You – but now I’m going to ER where I’ll have to spend hours and hours and a huge bundle of money… I don’t understand it!

No answer.

Hours later, with a diagnosis of sciatic nerve irritation and a prescription for pain medicine, I was driving back home.  Glad to have some relief – but still emotional about the whole thing.

It felt like my Father in heaven was ignoring me – leaving me to hurt.

And that hurt my heart.

It’s the next day now.  I’m no closer to an answer about it.  One day God moved to heal me of pain and another day He did not.  I don’t know why He did and didn’t.

I don’t understand.

But here’s the thing… I don’t really have to.

God never promised me that I would understand everything He does.

So I, like a little girl, have to trust my Father – even when I’m hurting -  even when I’m confused.

And I will.

Teaching

My oldest child baffles me on a regular basis.  She doesn’t think like I do.  She doesn’t act in ways that I can predict.  She doesn’t process information in a way that I can comprehend.

Sometimes that means I am delighted with her creativity.  Seeing some of the things she is able to concoct in that precious mind of hers is amazing to me!  Her ideas are much more unboxed than mine.

There are other times, though, when her way of thinking and doing things causes me a bit of consternation.  As a homeschooling mother, it is my job to make sure she is properly educated.  Not just to state or federal standards, but to God’s standards.  His requirements upon me as a mother can sometimes seem a bit overwhelming when dealing with child who is difficult to teach.

Don’t get me wrong – she’s a very smart child.  But, her learning styles just baffle me, and I wonder at times how I will ever get the information into her!

I imagine that’s true of many parents.  Not just homeschoolers, but anyone who accepts that we are mandated by the Word of God to train up our children in a way that is pleasing to Him.

Some days we just don’t seem to be making headway.  Sometimes they just don’t get it and we don’t know what else to try!

We had just such a series of days recently.

Our problem was a math lesson.  Actually, a series of math lessons.  My sweet girl is very good at math.  She grasps the concepts easily and learns well.  But, her creative spirit gets easily bored with completing her lessons.  A lesson that should take 30 minutes – 45 at the most – sometimes takes her as much as three hours!  And, when it takes that long, it is very obvious that her focus is far from math because she misses so many problems.

And that’s just the problem we’d been having for about four days.  I was at my wit’s end!

So, of course, in my mind the solution is to hammer into her that she should just learn to sit down and complete the lesson, start to finish, and within a certain time frame.  That’s what she’s supposed to do, right?  After all, isn’t that the type of ability society expects?

That’s where the Lord stopped me.

I’m not supposed to be teaching her to follow society’s dictates.  I’m supposed to be teaching her to fall in line with the Word of God.

Now, math is important.  And, if the lessons are not done with timeliness, then we have problems in many, many other aspects of our day and our learning experience, whether related to school or the rest of life.  But, God did not create her to be able to sit and work through a math lesson from start to finish without some sort of diversion.  She’s creative!  She’s energetic!  She’s not easily tied down!

My job is to teach her how to take the personality God gave her and apply it to the demands of life.

That means a lot of help from the Lord to give me ideas on how to help her progress through a math lesson.  And, He’s given me a few ideas and then had to beat me over the head when I create a brand new rut with those ideas.  (I like ruts – I learn best with ruts.  My daughter, on the other hand, breaks down in ruts!)  He’s still showing me how to use those ideas to complement her amazing personality.

What it all boils down to – and what I have to continue to be reminded – is that I am not teaching her math.  I’m teaching her to acquire knowledge.  To chase after understanding.  To hunger for wisdom.  To have a willingness to learn even if it’s something as tedious as math.  To discover ways to learn, even if it means being a little creative and going against the grain of society’s expectations.  And to apply all learning to the glory of God.

And I’m here to tell you, that little reminder from the Lord made an immediate impact on something as menial as our math lesson!

Peaceful Christmas

It’s the Christmas season!  What does that mean for your family?

For so many families it means much chaos.  Has the decorating been done yet?  How many parties do we have this week?  Shopping done yet?  Are you kidding?  That’s a laugh!  They might not even get wrapped this year!  Peace on earth, goodwill to me seems a little far-fetched sometimes, doesn’t it?

I remember as a child loving the song “Silver Bells.”  It seemed to present the most idyllic and perfect Christmas scene.  There was still the hustle and bustle of the season, but everything seemed peaceful somehow.  Even in the middle of the push to do what needed to be done, there was still the cheer and joy of the season.

I don’t know that Christmas has ever looked like that in my memory of our society.  It just doesn’t happen!  Instead, we are stressed to the max trying to get everything accomplished because, after all, that’s what’s expected of us.  Meanwhile, that’s what we are teaching our children as well.

I’d like to share a challenge that has been on my heart for several years.  Can we choose to live out peace before our families during this season?  I know, it seems a difficult thing to even consider in the midst of all of the chaos.  May I share something that has really helped me?

Prayer.

Yes, I can almost hear the shock over cyberspace. The, “Well, of course prayer helps!” statements.  But, stop and consider it with me for a minute.  If you are anything like me, there are some things that you’ve never considered praying about!

• Decor – have you ever considered praying over your decorations?  What does your home reflect when you decorate it for Christmas?  What focus does it bring to your children?  Pray that the Lord will show you 1) how to decorate your home with peace and right focus in mind and 2) what decorations you might be able to pass along to someone else to promote the same focus in their own home.
• Busyness and parties – we frequently hear the statement, “I just can’t do them all!”  Have you thought about praying over every invitation, guiding your children to do the same with theirs, and asking the Lord to guide you to the point of knowing how to fulfill the demands placed on your time during this season?
• Gifts – this has been the biggest one for me!  I really hate trying to come up with what to get people.  I’m not really all that good at it.  But, when I pray about it, a couple of things happen.  First of all, I have a renewed heart of prayer for the people I am trying to gift.  Last year every time I prayed for a gift for my brother and sister-in-law, I was overwhelmingly burdened for their salvation.  They were both saved this year!  Can I tell you what an incredible delight it was to pray over a gift for them this year?  I was reminded continually to thank the Lord for their salvation and the beauty it has brought to their lives!  Secondly, the practical side of it kicks into place.  I get ideas!  Great ideas that people love!  Other times, the Lord lays on my heart to not give a gift, but another idea comes to mind that will honor that person.  And, to top it all off, prayer saves us money because we are much better stewards of what He has given us to spend.

The most beautiful part of all of this is what my children are picking up.  They are making comments about Christmas that make me realize they are learning what it means to have a peaceful Christmas season.  I just love that!  They are not starting their lives addicted to the chaos.  Rather, they are learning to focus on Christ and on the beauty of joyful giving.  That makes all of the struggle of changing my perspective worth every minute.

As you move through the Christmas season this year, I challenge you to consider what your children are learning from you and compare it to what God would desire that you teach them.  Do they line up?  Are they compatible?  I pray that all of us may learn to have a peaceful Christmas season – and that the peace would spill over into every other day of our year!