The Bible is filled, in both the Old and New Testaments, with stories of miracles performed by God, Jesus, the disciples, and prophets. Powerful stories that result in unlikely battles won, escapes accomplished, impossible pregnancies, and the multiplication of food and drink. These documented biblical miracles bring up the hope that they could still occur, under the right set of circumstances, in the world today.
Have you ever experienced a miracle yourself? You quite possibly have, and either know it, or maybe you weren’t aware that it was, indeed, a miracle from God. I recently listened to an audiobook filled with stories of real-life miracles. It was a very uplifting and heartwarming read, and most of the miracles involved God helping someone out of a life-threatening situation, healing a deadly medical condition or helping a woman conceive a baby when doctors felt it was impossible.
Mark 11:23 shows us Jesus saying, “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.”
Wow, think about that. In all my days I’ve never heard of a mountain actually throwing itself into the sea, and especially not at the order of a human. So was Jesus using an analogy? Was he exaggerating to make his point about the powerful outcome of prayer?
He goes on to say (in verse 24): “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Okay! That seems pretty straightforward. All we have to do is ask for it, and believe it, and it will happen.
But …
What if it doesn’t happen? You probably agree with me that we’ve all prayed for things that simply haven’t happened. Does that mean we didn’t believe hard enough? That we weren’t worthy to ask for something and have the Lord Almighty grant it? That our faith simply wasn’t strong enough?
I’ve heard people say, “Prayer’s not like having a genie in a bottle and all you have to do is rub the side and it happens.” I agree with that thought.
Is there a clue in the rest of the conversation Jesus was having with his disciples in this section? Verse 25 says, “And when you are praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Hmmm, so does that mean in order for your prayers to be fulfilled, you have to forgive anyone you have a grudge against first? That could take some doing …
Sometimes I feel like I’m giving a list of tasks to God to accomplish to fulfill my will. Maybe it’s the healing of someone who’s sick, or securing a job that I really want that would make a big difference in the life of my family. Or any number of requests of God to achieve my heart’s desires. After all, isn’t that what verse 24 tells us? “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
But what about God’s will? I believe God has a plan for every situation, and it would not be difficult to believe that his will is different than mine. He sees the whole picture, while I only see what’s right in front of me. He may plan to fulfill a prayer request, but not right now. Maybe not until another sequence of events happens first. It could be years from now. And undoubtedly, his timing would be better than mine anyway!
In her article, What Happens When You’re Praying for a Miracle and You Don’t Get It, author Shari Yates shares these strategies for things to do when you’re waiting for the miracle you prayed for, and it doesn’t seem to be happening:
1. Do not exhaust yourself trying to make sense of it. We are not supposed to understand everything because we simply can’t understand everything. But we are supposed to pray about everything so we can have the peace that is better than understanding. We get a chance to believe even when we don’t get our way. Faith isn’t seeing — it’s continuing to believe even when we do not see.
2. Do not stop asking God for His help. After we don’t see the miracle we asked for, many of us back off from praying because we feel inept or maybe we wonder if God even cares. The Bible does tell us to place our hands on sick people and pray for them (Mark 16:15-18). It doesn’t say, “You make them well if your faith is strong enough.” It teaches us to reach out in faith. But only God’s power works the miracles. Our responsibility is to pray, but the weight of the outcome was never meant to be on our shoulders.
I saw this comment in my research, that I liked, “Prayer is not like instant cocoa. Just add water and there you go. Sometimes yes, prayer can see a result instantly, but usually that is not the case. Prayer is often answered in ways we don't expect, at times we don't expect.”
And it’s most important not to get discouraged or lose faith when you don’t see the result you’re praying for. The very act of prayer is an important one: we get the chance to put ourselves in a posture of prayer, to push away all the competing distractions of our life, to focus on Almighty God and speak openly about what’s on our mind. In addition to speaking, we can also listen to see if a message is delivered to our heart and mind. Time spent in prayer is time building and enhancing our personal relationship with God.
And I can’t really think of any other activity I have on my calendar today that is nearly as important as that.
Let’s pray: Dear God, help us to remember to come to you with all our requests and thanks and praise. We know you want to hear from us, and we know that prayer builds and strengthens our relationship with you. When we ask for those things that don’t see an immediate response, please help us stay patient and strong and wait for your divine timing to do your work. Amen.