Answered, Then Unanswered, Prayers
Last night, I watched a report on the 11 o'clock news showing euphoria spreading through a small West Virginia town when it was learned that 13 trapped miners were rescued alive. I heard the shouts of joy, the prayers of praise, and the acclaimations of the glory of God. I felt the same way, and posted this now-deleted post:
I feel foolish about my enthusiasm last night. Helping that feeling is my resident gadfly, Steve, who commented quickly last night, "Is that the same God that caused last year's tsunami?"
I still believe God answers prayer. I just got excited last night and thought that he had answered the prayers we pray in the way we wanted them answered. I confused the Candy Man with God.
We do rightly praise God when a cancer that confounded all the doctors disappears. We praise him when the surviver climbs unscratched from the wreckage. We praise him when the daughter marries a strong, kind young man.
And such prayers are not misdirected. But neither were the proclamations of praise Job uttered as his children died, his body was covered with painful boils, and his wealth was lost. Job teaches us that while God loves us very, very much, his eternal view and his eternal purpose are different from our temporal, worldly goals and purposes.
Job also yelled at God in anger, which is fine; God can handle it, and the yelling was a way God brought comfort to Job.
Tallmansville, WV is living through Job's experience now,. And as with Job, God was there, above and below the ground in that small West Virginia town. He was found in the comfort He gave the miners in their last moments, as he will be found in the care and compassion that will be showered on the families in the months to come. He will be found when a widow's or child's spark of hope is lowest, but refuses to go out.
Praise Him indeed!
Bush's Prayers (And Ours) WorkedI'm still praising God, even though I now know the horrible news that only one of the 13 survived, which means the others probably died shortly before they were rescued -- an awful tragedy instead of a glorious miracle.
AP might have subtly poked at the president for saying the nation was praying for the trapped West Virginia miners, but God was listening.Twelve miners caught in an explosion in a coal mine were found alive Tuesday night, sending family members streaming from the church where they had gathered during the nearly two-day ordeal. Joyous shouts rose of "Praise the Lord!" -- APPraise Him indeed!
I feel foolish about my enthusiasm last night. Helping that feeling is my resident gadfly, Steve, who commented quickly last night, "Is that the same God that caused last year's tsunami?"
I still believe God answers prayer. I just got excited last night and thought that he had answered the prayers we pray in the way we wanted them answered. I confused the Candy Man with God.
We do rightly praise God when a cancer that confounded all the doctors disappears. We praise him when the surviver climbs unscratched from the wreckage. We praise him when the daughter marries a strong, kind young man.
And such prayers are not misdirected. But neither were the proclamations of praise Job uttered as his children died, his body was covered with painful boils, and his wealth was lost. Job teaches us that while God loves us very, very much, his eternal view and his eternal purpose are different from our temporal, worldly goals and purposes.
Job also yelled at God in anger, which is fine; God can handle it, and the yelling was a way God brought comfort to Job.
Tallmansville, WV is living through Job's experience now,. And as with Job, God was there, above and below the ground in that small West Virginia town. He was found in the comfort He gave the miners in their last moments, as he will be found in the care and compassion that will be showered on the families in the months to come. He will be found when a widow's or child's spark of hope is lowest, but refuses to go out.
Praise Him indeed!
posted by Laer at 6:35 AM
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