One of my favorite story jokes tells of two old geezers, Bob and Frank, who loved baseball, so much so that they wondered if there is baseball in heaven. Both of them being of the proactive type, they make a pact that the first one of them to go to the hereafter would come back to inform the other about the matter.
Eventually, Bob passed on ahead of Frank. After inquiring about the subject and gaining divine permission to visit his friend, Bob called out to him while he was dreaming one night.
Frank: “Bob, is that you?”
Bob: “Yes indeed, it sure is. But I got some good news, and I got some bad news.”
Frank: “OK, give me the good news first.”
Bob: “Man alive, you’re not gonna believe it, but by jove, there really is baseball in heaven!”
Frank: “Yesssss, I knew it, that’s totally awesome! So, what’s the bad news?”
Bob: “Well, I was looking at the schedule, and it looks like you are pitching next Wednesday. . .”
So, it’s “good news, bad news” for me this morning in regards to my journey of faith as I continue to walk with Jesus. The good news is that God has done a great work in my life this past year in the matter of prayer. As is true with many believers, both now and throughout church history, maintaining a regular prayer life can be a real challenge. However, the Lord has recently brought a new friend and brother into my life, a godly, humble man who is the living embodiment of what I’ve always thought a biblical man or woman of prayer ought to be, and what I have strived to be for a long time. Through many close-up interactions with my prayerful friend, I have been increasingly moved both by shame and godly desire to make substantial changes in my prayer life for the better. I am happy to say that it has been a good year for me when it comes to prayer.
“So, what’s the bad news,” I hear you ask? The events of the past few days have made it abundantly clear to me that I have a lot more to learn about the subject.
Someone who is very near and dear to me has been struggling for a long time in a particular area of her Christian life. And of course, I, as someone who cares deeply for her, have been praying regularly for her, that God would work in her life and give her victory in the matter. So far, so good. But then, just the other day, she spoke openly to a large group of fellow believers of both her struggle and new desire to see God work in her life in this difficult manner, as though God had heard somebody’s prayers for her and answered them.
You might expect that I was not surprised at all to hear of this positive step forward. After all, I have been praying for her faithfully in the matter. Sadly, I was indeed surprised, caught off guard, so to say. Much like the believers in the book of Acts, who were shocked when God answered their “earnest” prayers on behalf of Peter, who had been locked up in prison. When a servant girl saw that Peter was standing outside the gate, she raced back to the prayer group, excitedly announcing his divinely-assisted arrival. Shockingly, they said to her, “You are out of your mind” (italics added). When they finally found it to be true, they were “amazed” (Acts 12:6-15).
I’ve known that story for a long time, and I still remember thinking that the praying group in Acts must have been a bunch of spiritual dunderheads for being surprised that their prayers for Peter were answered. Yet here I am, thinking essentially the same thing about my sister in the Lord. As I have been praying for her, asking God to show up in her life and do what only what He can do, have I been confident that God would work in her life for her good and for her growth? Sadly, I can’t say that I have.
The scripture clearly tells us that we can count on God to act when we pray: “This is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14, italics added). This goes hand in hand with what James says about the matter, that “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16, italics added). It doesn’t look complicated: When I am faithfully walking with God, then God will act when I call upon Him, asking Him to do the things that are beyond my ability. It sounds simple, but it has not often been my experience.
I think I’m realizing that I’ve been confusing the things that I want with the things that God wants. I’m used to not getting a lot of things from God that I ask of Him. There’s that boss at work that always seemed to go out of his way to make my job harder. I prayed diligently for a new boss, but the one I had never went away. On another occasion, I was asking God to help me get a particular job. I learned later that I came in second during the interview process (out of more than 20 applicants), but the job went to somebody else. Did God want me to have these two things that I wanted? Apparently not. On the other hand, I’m discovering that there is a long list of things that God does indeed want for both me and all of His children. He wants me to trust Him in the midst of difficult circumstance, depending on His strength to get through (1 Cor. 10:13). He wants to give me wisdom when I ask for it, and He promises to dispense it generously (Jam. 1:5). He also promises to meet our basic needs, if we are consistently putting Him first in our hearts and minds (Matt. 6:11, 25-34). In a nutshell, He wants His children to become more like Jesus (Rom. 8:29).
So maybe as I ask my heavenly Father for a new boss, I should also ask Him to supernaturally strengthen me, that I might be able to endure; or to give me His agape love for my unlovable boss, that I might be able to accept him as he is; or request wisdom, that I might know how to navigate a difficult work environment. Does God always want the things that I want? Sometimes, but not always. Does God always want to give me things He promises to give me, when I am faithfully following Him? I’m gaining new confidence that yes, indeed He does. And I believe He will do the same for my brothers and sister in need when I pray for them.
