By Juliane Wiebracht
From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. Jonah 2:1
Isn’t that how it sometimes feels? We are in the darkness of the belly of the fish. Things seem impossible. Deliverance appears completely out of reach. Pray? Why continue to pray when we have prayed over and over again for years, about the same issue, and things only seem to get worse? Wouldn’t it be easier to stop thinking about it? Maybe give up praying over this same wound? Stop revisiting this stinging pain over and over again? Why ask God for help when He seems to be doing nothing anyways? For me it can almost appear freeing to pray less and label it as “trust” or “surrender”. Oh, I’m praying less because I have given that person over to God, I trust that He’ll take care of them. Really, I’m praying less because my hope has been dwindling as more and more time passes and all I get is discouraging news. Where is God anyways? I know He’s here with me. I feel Him. But is He taking a hiatus from those I love? Why put myself through the heartache of revisiting the same wound over and over again, and for what? For no news plus bad news? After all, I can find easier stuff to pray about, like the pretty sunrise or the way He’s blessing other areas of my life. And yet, these disappointments beg the question: Why do I need to pray about the hard stuff?
The answer is buried deep, under all the layers of my broken human dreams and desires. But God in His grace unearths the seed of truth that He knows is hiding under all the pain. He reminds me that there is something that I long for more than the answers. It is Him. I must pray because I desperately want a deeper intimacy with Him and prayer welcomes more and more and more of Him into my life. Prayer says to Him, “I choose to look past my own doubt and believe that You are who You say You are. You are powerful enough to say ‘Yes’ but sovereign enough to say ‘No’, without owing me an explanation.” Prayer says to Him, “I can’t fix this Father, I can’t fix this. But I believe You can, so please please help me. There is no one else I can rely on and there is nowhere else I can turn. You alone are my Rock. You alone are my hope.” By casting my cares on God, I am laying down my own human despair and admitting to Him, “Father, I know You are working in the unseen world, even if I observe no evidence of this in the things I can see and touch.” It’s my chance to say, “God, even if you don’t give me what I am pleading for, I know You hear me. You are the One who pulls me out of the pit. You are the one who accepts my prayer. My hope is in your unfailing love and through you alone am I saved.” (see Jonah 2)
Prayer causes me to experience more of Him. More of His power, His Spirit, counsel, closeness and wisdom. Even if He does not give me the deliverance for which I beg, I will still receive what I long for the most- more of Him.
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39
