I have two loved ones who are battling cancer, and I don't know how to pray for them. Do I ask for their healing even though it looks grim? I know God's will is already known to him . . . so do I ask for a miracle? How and what do I pray to our Lord for?
Questions Listed Under Prayer
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There is no doubt that the Lord is presenting you with some challenging situations. Knowing how to pray is not always an easy task. We want to accept God's will and his providence over our lives and the lives of our loved ones. But we realize that he also invites us to pray.
We may wonder why God does this, especially if he knows what he is going to do anyway. Here we simply have to trust that our prayers do make a difference because God says they do. He tells us that "the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" (James 5:16). Hezekiah even gives us an example of how God altered his course of action because of the prayer of one of his people (Isaiah 38). Our prayers make a difference. They play a part in God's governance of the world.
Let's explore what God's Word says about how we should pray. The Lord invites us to "call upon him" (Psalm 50:15) and to "cast all our anxiety on him" (1 Peter 5:7). Jesus adds, "My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name" (John 16:23). Although it may sound as though Jesus is giving us a blank check, we understand his words alongside of other sections of Scripture where God teaches us that we always pray with the attitude, "Not my will but yours be done" (Matthew 6:10; James 4:13-15). However, these passages do point out that we are to pray with confidence, knowing that we can ask for anything and that God will hear that prayer and consider our request. In Philippians 4:6 the apostle Paul states, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
You certainly have some matters that are weighing heavily on your heart and mind. God invites you to bring these matters to him in prayer. He also adds that you can ask for what may seem impossible recognizing that what may seem impossible to us is possible for God (Matthew 19:26).
Considering these passages, it is appropriate for you to pray for a miracle in the lives of your loved ones. You can pray that the Lord will heal them from their cancer. But as you pray for this miracle you accept the fact that God may not work a miracle in this case. This does not mean God did not hear your request. It does not mean that God did not answer your prayer. God always hears our prayers and answers them. But when he doesn't give us what we want, he gives us something better. That is not always easy to understand in this life. We may not see how God is giving us something better by allowing a loved one to suffer through an illness and perhaps even die from that disease. Yet we have his promise that he will do what is best for us and our loved ones. -
How does one turn all their requests, cares, and troubles over to God and not worry? Often I think I try to second-guess God and do not truly leave things with Him. I tell myself God understands, and wants me to continue trying, as in continual prayer, but this always bothers me, and I do not wish to offend our Father.
What you describe concerning yourself, namely, the tendency to worry and mistrust God even after you have turned things over to him in prayer, is all too common among believers. Yes, it is a sign of weakness in faith. Yes, it is dishonoring God contrary to what he desires and what we desire. It remains a pesky problem worthy of our attention and needing a remedy. Thanks for asking for guidance.
Allow an analogy. Imagine you are at one side of a bridge that spans a deep chasm and you are to walk over the chasm on that bridge. You may say, "I need to trust the bridge because I really have no other choice," but emotionally you are still worried and, frankly, you don't trust the bridge. So what do you do? Do you focus on your emotional state and spend a lot of time analyzing how you feel about the bridge? That's a waste of time. Rather you should focus on the bridge. Inspect its construction, consider what it is made of and how it has served others who have used it -- and then your mistrust of the bridge gradually will evaporate as your confidence grows. The more you know and examine and evaluate the bridge and what it's made of and its past performance, the more your trust will grow and your worry disappear.
I hope you see the point. Your question and the way you ask it tells me that your focal point is your worry and weakness of faith. Forget about that and simply begin to focus on God as he reveals himself in the Bible, as he informs you of how he has guided and protected his dear people in history, how he makes unconditional promises to you, and especially how he expresses his love and gives you eternal safety with the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ your Savior. The more you concentrate on him, his word and promises, especially his saving work for you in Christ, the more you will echo the words of Romans 8:31-32. More and more the attitude of David in Psalm 56:10-11 will grow and express itself in you and through you.
I hope you can see that what I am counseling you is quite basic and extremely practical. Your problem is weakness of faith. How does faith grow stronger? The Holy Spirit provides this blessing as he testifies to you through the Word and promises of God.
As we maintain primary focus on the Word of God and make this our lifestyle, the gift of faith will grow and increasingly govern our hearts and minds, emotions included. This is your path to victory in this matter just as it is for me.
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How does one know when prayer is being answered? I believe in Christ Jesus and I say my prayers, but I always seem up against it. If our Father blesses the unrighteous as well as the righteous, how does anyone discern any headway, or results in their dependence on God?
You are asking a question many professing Christians have asked. And this allows us to identify a really important aspect of our faith-life as God's people.
"We live by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7) is a good description of the Christian life and perhaps especially of our prayer lives. Very often we do not know from visible or dramatic evidence that our prayers are being answered. That would be "living by sight." Rather, we know that our prayers are being answered because God invites us to pray and promises that he will hear and answer our prayers. So whether or not we can point to some "evidence" in our lives or the lives of others, we know our prayers are answered. That is "living by faith." The ability to do this and to be content with this is a gift of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God—and it is a great blessing regarding prayer, as well as regarding the work of our Savior Jesus Christ, the reality of heaven as our home, or the truth that God causes all things to serve our ultimate good (Romans 8:28). In short, you do well to stop asking, "Are my prayers being answered?" They are. God promises this.
Additionally, you do well to remember that while God always answers your prayers, he sometimes may answer "Yes!" and on other occasions "No!" Sometimes he says "Wait! or "Not yet!" and takes time to give us what we ask for. But all along we know by faith that he is answering our prayers. If he grants your request in a quick and obvious way, you know that he not only heard your prayer, but he decided to answer it the way you asked. But if he does not grant your request quickly or obviously, his answer may be "No" or "Wait." But he still answers the prayer. This we believe because he promises this and he is 100% faithful to his promises.
At times—and this may or may not be true of you—there might be specific reasons why God may not answer a specific prayer at a specific time. Here are some sample reasons the Bible mentions: We don't really believe God can answer the prayer (James 1:6-8). We ask with wrong motives (James 4:3). Unconfessed sin separates us from God, so that he won't listen (Isaiah 59:1-2). We don't answer those who cry to us for help (Proverbs 21:13).
I don't want you to jump to conclusions about your specific situation, however, so I urge you to speak with your pastor in person. You can then discuss more fully examples and features of living by faith rather than by sight.
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I learned that we fold our hands when we pray out of respect to God. Recently I've seen young families that hold each others' hands when they pray. I am wondering if this takes the focus away from God and applies it to one another.
Different prayer postures are described in the Bible, but there are no prescribed postures. None of the physical postures in themselves add anything to the power of prayer, but they may be an expression of the worshiper's attitude or an aid in focusing the worshiper's attention.
Folded hands and closed eyes are a way of focusing exclusively on the prayer. Kneeling expresses humility. Bowed heads are most appropriate in prayers of repentance. Looking up to heaven is also mentioned in the Bible.
In some cultures it is considered disrespectful to pray while standing. In some it is disrespectful to pray while seated.
Some today pray with arms extended out to the side, palms upward. Placing the hands palm to palm is a gesture of attention and reverence. Neither of these postures is common among Protestants, however.
Praying in a circle emphasizes the unity and fellowship of those praying. If it is done in a family and each member adds petitions to a prayer which is the joint prayer of all, it can be meaningful. However, if there is the notion that hooking the pray-ers together, like hooking together a lot a batteries, makes the prayer more powerful, the practice of joining hands becomes similar to meaningless repetition.
Any posture displayed in public to impress others as the Pharisees did would likewise not be a good thing. Again, the motive is important. Is the prayer posture designed to impress someone with a show of piety or is it simply a quiet confession of the importance of prayer as a part of life?
It is good to give thought to the posture we use while praying. What meaning does it have? What attitude and impression do we convey by using it? Yet, the most important part of prayer is not any specific posture. It is that we approach God with faith in Christ our Savior.
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Is it okay to pray for a miraculous healing?
It is proper to pray for healing and to ask your pastor or a fellow Christian to join you in such prayers. Nowhere has Scripture declared that divine healings have ceased, nor has Scripture anywhere advised that we should not include such matters in our prayers.
It is wise, however, to have realistic expectations. Not all the sick and dying were healed when our Lord served among people, and not everyone was healed among the apostles or those they served. Paul was denied healing of a physical ailment he asked to be removed (2 Corinthians 12:8-10), Paul's coworker Epaphroditus almost died and was not quickly healed (Philippians 2:25). Trophimus was not miraculously healed (2 Timothy 4:20), and Timothy was instructed to use medicinal remedies rather than being healed (1 Timothy 5:23). God has always been selective and has not given a guaranteed promise of miraculous healing to his dearly loved people. Since the time of the apostles, the phenomenon of miraculous healings has apparently substantially decreased in number. Perhaps this is because one of the purposes of miracles is no longer needed. Originally God provided them to substantiate the trustworthiness and truth of the Apostolic New Testament (Mark 16:20).
When you pray for healing, do so as a humble child of God and ask that God's will be done—and tell him you pray that healing is indeed his will. Ask confidently, knowing that he is not only fully able to heal but also able to sustain you in illness and use sickness for your spiritual and eternal good as well as for his glory. -
When I'm praying, sometimes I have difficulty making sense of things and coming up with the words, especially when I am overcome with emotion about a particular matter. Can I assume that God knows what I'm trying to say even if I don't?
Yes, you may assume and know with certainty that God knows precisely how you feel and what you are seeking to express. Romans 8:26,27 gives us this kind of assurance: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will." You will also find comfort in pondering the truths of Psalm 139:1-4.
You will still benefit from taking the time to sort out your thoughts and reactions to things, and then to strive to express yourself clearly in your prayers as well as your conversations with others. But when, despite efforts to do this, you find yourself having trouble, rest assured your heavenly Father knows what you are thinking, desiring, and asking.
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