Why?

                 Why are some prayers not answered?

                                                             Why do bad things happen to good people?

                                   Why do nice guys seem to finish last?
                                                        
                                                Why is finding my purpose so difficult?



The last few weeks have been the kind to provoke these kinds of questions and more like them.  In some cases these questions have been born of tragedy -- the death or illness of someone we love.  In others, they have sprouted from seeds of doubt or uncertainty about purpose or just about the future generally.

These are by no means new questions.  Rather, they are questions man has faced at least since Adam and Eve tasted of the forbidden fruit.

I thank God that in the midst of these difficult and uncertain times the people I have discussed these questions with have not been in a "crisis of faith."  At least, they have not questioned the essential faith that brought them to salvation in the first place.  Still, difficult times can test our faith in God's plan for our lives, our faith that He hears our prayers and, perhaps, our faith in His justice.

When we have life experiences that produce these types of questions, many well-intentioned Christians will say things like "God is in control" or "God has a purpose in all of this" or some similar sentiment designed to comfort us and perhaps stabilize our faith.  Or, they may even quote the Bible itself (e.g.,  Romans 8:28 -- "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.").

I know that I have said such things in the past to others, and indeed I have been comforted by these types of statements myself on more than one occasion!  But, we also need to know that the Bible does not leave us in complete suspense about the reasons behind the difficulties and hardships of life.

This is not to say that the Bible will tell us what God specifically is up to in every challenging time in our life.  But, we can see specific examples of how God uses trials, tragedy and suffering for our good.

A good example of this is found in Paul's second letter to the church in Corinth.  There, Paul explains his own suffering:

⁶ Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, ⁷ or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:6-10 (NIV).

When you stop and think about this text, you can see that Paul is really telling us at least two things.  The first is that God heard Paul's prayer to be freed from the thorn in his flesh, but God decided not to do anything about it.

Now, we have all been there before, haven't we?  There are certainly times in life when we desperately want God to answer our prayers, and they seem to go unanswered and maybe even unheard.  And, this happens even though we might have been praying for good things -- a job so we could pay our bills, healing from sickness, freedom from an addiction.

But the second thing Paul tells us is that God had a reason for not answering his prayer.  God had a reason for not removing the thorn from Paul's flesh.  In this case, God wanted to keep Paul from being conceited.  He wanted Paul to be in a place of complete reliance on Christ -- to understand that only through his weakness could the real power of Christ be displayed.

This is not to say that these are the only reasons prayers sometimes go unanswered.  The Bible certainly gives us other examples. 

Although I hesitate to mention it, sometimes prayers go unanswered because of unbelief or doubt.  See James 1:6-8.  Sadly, for some people this reason for unanswered prayer produces a kind of guilt.  They think that if only their faith would have been stronger some tragedy could have been averted.  But, I don't think that is what James is talking about at all.  I think James is just saying that you have to have true faith in Jesus as your savior.  You can find in the Bible many other reasons why prayers go unanswered -- but I will let you search for them yourselves!! 

I do want to leave you with this, however.  Sometimes having your prayers answered requires the audacity to ask, and sometimes it requires persistence.  Just some things to think about.

5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

 9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Luke 11:5-13 (NIV).


Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Luke 18:1-8 (NIV).