"Touched by an Angel" was a show I used to watch on occassion. The premise of the show was that three angels roamed the earth helping people to see God's glory, or preparing people for their transition from their earthly existance to their heavenly existance.
In one episode a town in the American Southwest was experiencing a severe drought. The townspeople prayed for rain, but none came. So..in order to make a point, a lawyer in the town filed a class action lawsuit against God. That's right, they sued God for not answering their prayers. During the show one of the angels is on the stand trying to explain that God answers prayers "in his own time" and that it was beyond human understanding to know why and for what purpose God had not answered the prayers. The court recessed for lunch, and when they came back the same angel took the stand and said that she had spoken with God during the recess and that God had given her an answer to the town's prayers....the answer was "No". It wasn't a case of God not answering the prayers or not listening. God had listened..he had heard the prayers..and his answer to prayers of "please give us rain" was ... "No".
Now that's a difficult concept to grasp. It's difficult for a believer to grasp the concept that God would say no to such a request. I mean, it wasn't like God was being asked to give them an extra helping of their favorite flavor of ice cream. These people were in dire need of rain and were being told no.
Most of the times I've asked God for help I've received it. And it's come in a form that is I understand. I almost immediately see the results of my prayers. But there have been times I've been told No. Usually I figure out why at some point down the road...but at the time I'm told no, it's really difficult to understand why. I'm a good person. I consider myself to be a decent, loving human being. That's not to say that I haven't made my mistakes along the way, and not to say that I won't make more in the future. But overall I'm a good person and I deserve the things I ask for don't I?
The Garth Brooks song "Unanswered Prayers" comes to mind. At the time the answer of "No" comes around, it hurts. No one likes to be told no. But just like a parent tells a child no, we have to remember that we are children of God. And we must have faith that when He tells us no, there's a reason that's beyond our understanding, and at some point in the future that reason will be made clear to us.
In one episode a town in the American Southwest was experiencing a severe drought. The townspeople prayed for rain, but none came. So..in order to make a point, a lawyer in the town filed a class action lawsuit against God. That's right, they sued God for not answering their prayers. During the show one of the angels is on the stand trying to explain that God answers prayers "in his own time" and that it was beyond human understanding to know why and for what purpose God had not answered the prayers. The court recessed for lunch, and when they came back the same angel took the stand and said that she had spoken with God during the recess and that God had given her an answer to the town's prayers....the answer was "No". It wasn't a case of God not answering the prayers or not listening. God had listened..he had heard the prayers..and his answer to prayers of "please give us rain" was ... "No".
Now that's a difficult concept to grasp. It's difficult for a believer to grasp the concept that God would say no to such a request. I mean, it wasn't like God was being asked to give them an extra helping of their favorite flavor of ice cream. These people were in dire need of rain and were being told no.
Most of the times I've asked God for help I've received it. And it's come in a form that is I understand. I almost immediately see the results of my prayers. But there have been times I've been told No. Usually I figure out why at some point down the road...but at the time I'm told no, it's really difficult to understand why. I'm a good person. I consider myself to be a decent, loving human being. That's not to say that I haven't made my mistakes along the way, and not to say that I won't make more in the future. But overall I'm a good person and I deserve the things I ask for don't I?
The Garth Brooks song "Unanswered Prayers" comes to mind. At the time the answer of "No" comes around, it hurts. No one likes to be told no. But just like a parent tells a child no, we have to remember that we are children of God. And we must have faith that when He tells us no, there's a reason that's beyond our understanding, and at some point in the future that reason will be made clear to us.
The only prayer I say on a regular basis is the serenity prayer. I think just saying it makes me think about what I have control of and what I don't. So in that way I think my prayer is answered.
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