Unanswered Prayer

One of the most vexing questions clergy get is “Why wasn’t my loved on healed?”  It takes many forms, but when we read in teh Scripture of Jesus’ healing, we can’t help but ask “Why not me?” when things haven’t turned out as we might wish.

In Sunday’s Gospel lesson, we read of Jesus healing many, then when asked to heal more, he decided to move on to another town, leaving many unhealed.  Click here to read the passage from Mark.

We sometimes say things like “We don’t know what might have happened if . . .” or “Real healing comes in heaven” etc.  These answers may all be true, but are of little comfort when we are in pain.  Answers from the head rarely heal the heart.

I believe that the healing we seek in these situations comes in the context of loving relationships with Jesus and one another. 

Even in our closest relationships, we don’t always get things the way we want.  We can’t always buy the house we want or take the trip we want or even eat dinner at the time we want.  None of that calls the relationship into question.  The love and trust that is built helps us to understand that there are far more things to consider than just our own wants and preferences.

In the same way, our love and trust with Jesus should enable us to trust even when we don’t get things worked out the way we might want.  There are for more factors at play than we know or understand.

Where have you had a struggle trusting that Jesus is there in the hard moments?  How might you build that trust?

This column appeared in the February 4, 2024 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.

If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.