Paul had problems. He even had what appeared to be a physical problem as he refers to it as a buffeting thorn in his flesh. He prayed that the Lord would take it away:
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:8-9 KJV)
“My grace is sufficient for thee.” Paul believed it, do we?
After we’ve prayed for something and we have not received a positive answer, do we depend on His grace, or does our faith start waning a bit? Some may tell us that we aren’t “doing it right,” that we need to pray a specific way, at a specific time, standing, kneeling, with (or without) others. Or, they say, we can’t reach God.
Others will laugh at the thought of praying to a myth, to a God that does not exist. If He did, we wouldn’t need to pray, He would give us what we need. One such posted a comment a story of a child’s healing through prayer, laughing at the parents praying to a God who allowed the child to become ill in the first place.
I don’t understand how non-believers determine that we believe God plans and implements every moment in our lives. There’s nothing biblical that indicates He is a puppet-master pulling strings here and there to get people to do what He wants. We are a people with choices – daily – in how we live.
Christians who love their Lord deeply have made bad choices along the way. Some of those decisions come with consequences similar to Paul’s thorn, pricking their conscience if not their flesh. In many instances, we’ll receive the same response Paul did.
If we do, we mustn’t dwell on the pain, but on the grace that is sufficient. It is the same grace we read:
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10 KJV)
God has ordained where we should be walking and He provides the grace for us to do so. Build faith and feel the sufficiency.
There are those who say if our prayers aren't answered, it's because we didn't have enough faith, but Paul had plenty of faith but sometimes God's answer is not what we want.
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