Does Prayer Work?
Jun 26th, 2008 by ljkim
The argument goes something like this: If God is real then how come he doesn’t heal amputees? How come people can ask sincerely and persistently for something and he doesn’t come through? How can you believe in God when prayer obviously doesn’t work for REAL problems?
If you’ve ever really wanted something and felt ignored by God then I’m sorry about that! Hopefully you’ve had time to heal and can think about this rationally as well as emotionally. Just because God doesn’t do what you ask doesn’t mean prayer doesn’t “work” or that God doesn’t exist. That would be like saying “talking doesn’t work” and “you don’t exist” because I ask you for things and you won’t do what I ask.
What you need to know is that this world is broken. And although it doesn’t always look that way, it’s broken for everyone. Anyone who claims otherwise isn’t being entirely truthful. But there’s more to life than what you’ve lost. There’s actually a meaning and life and love (that you can get now) that transcends any of the circumstances of this world – and can make even the brokenness meaningful. Prayer is key to that because getting in touch with God is key to that. God’s solution to all this suffering is not to immediately undo everything that’s wrong with the world, but to use brokenness and suffering in ways we can’t always anticipate. The greatest of people would not have been the same if they had not suffered. The most beautiful art and music and poetry is often born out of this – the best stories are sometimes the sad stories that give us hope. And sometimes, it’s possible to have an ending that is so good that you would not trade a minute of the agony that precede it.
[About the photo: Waterfall under the Brooklyn Bridge...]
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