Trusting the God Who Knows More Than We Do
I recently preached a sermon from a passage that had been assigned to me. Often a pastor is either preaching through the church lectionary’s suggested texts, is preaching a series on a certain topic, or possibly preaching through a book of the Bible. It is easier when a visiting pastor can deliver a sermon that they have already prepared and simply adapt it for the new audience. But in this case, I was to finish a sermon series from the book of James, and the assigned passage had to do with prayer and healing.
On one hand, the assignment was simple. As one who believes in prayer and in the authority of scripture, I have no issue preaching on prayer or in believing that God answers our prayers. But on the other hand, like you, I have experienced times when prayers have been offered and the cancer or illness did not go away.
As I prepared my sermon, I began to think about Tim Keller, a prominent pastor and author who died in 2023 of pancreatic cancer. I have listened to many sermons and interviews Keller did over the years. His reputation was that of a compassionate and thoughtful leader who led a church in New York City for decades.
In an interview of Keller after his diagnosis, he was calm, clear, and sure that God answers our prayers, including our prayers for the sick. He was also clear that God doesn’t always answer our prayers according to our immediate preferences. I used this quote from Tim Keller in my sermon:
“God will either give us what we ask or give us what we would have asked if we knew everything he knows.”
I think you would agree that neither you nor I know all the things that God knows! Yet we often act as if the things we want or expect are precisely what is best for us, for others, and maybe even for the world. Arrogance has a funny way of sneaking into our thinking and worse into our behavior. The more I pondered Keller’s comment on prayer, the more comfortable I am in its truth. I think the conclusion of his thoughts align well with other passages on prayer that we find in scripture.
In the eighth chapter of Romans, the apostle Paul describes the differences between living our lives according to the flesh and lives that are aligned with and led by the Holy Spirit. As believers, we are reminded that we have been adopted into the family of God with God as our Father. And not just a father in name only. We have a Father who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and fully present in every moment. Our Father is the creator of all things and is working his perfect plan to bring the full redemption of his creation.
While the sins of Adam and Eve created a destructive path for everyone and everything, God sent Jesus to die on the cross for both our redemption and for the redemption of his created world. While we cannot see all that God sees, we can trust in his plans because of the resurrection of Christ. We know that since Jesus came out of the tomb fully alive, then everything will in fact be alright. But we must both work and wait for God’s plans to arrive at their divine conclusion.
In regard to our prayers, Paul said that the Spirit helps us in our weakness. God loves us so much that he gave us his Holy Spirit to help us, even with our prayers, and especially when we are weak and uncertain as to how we should pray.
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
It is okay, even expected by God, that we will have moments and seasons where we are uncertain, confused about our next steps or even how to pray about the suffering, the struggle, the sickness, and the path forward. But hear the word of God through the apostle Paul that in those very moments: “the Spirit himself intercedes for us”. But note he intercedes for us according to the will of God.”
I am grateful that God answers prayers based on his wisdom and purposes rather than mine. But like you, I will admit that sometimes in the moment I do not prefer his answers. But if we trust in God’s perfect love, then we can be at peace that the outcomes from our prayers are exactly right for us, for our loved ones, and align with God’s renewal of all things.
Father, we call out to you today because we believe that your ways are higher, stronger, and better than ours. We believe in your plans, but like the father in Mark 9:24, we pray: “I believe; help my unbelief.” With Paul we admit and therefore pray: “We do not know what to pray for as we ought,” so we trust that your Spirit is right now interceding for us and will answer our prayers according to your perfect will. Thank you for this precious promise. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Romans 8:12-30 ESV
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