Unanswered Prayer for the Glory of God

Unanswered Prayer for the Glory of God by Julie McAllen

So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. (John 11:3-6)

As I was studying the story of Lazarus, I took note of Jesus’ DELAY.

It was about a day’s journey for the message of Lazarus’ illness to get to Jesus. And as soon as he heard his friend was sick, what did Jesus do?

when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was (John 11:6)

Jesus stayed put for 2 more days. He was in no rush. After that 2 day wait, he and his disciples traveled to Bethany where his friend lay. That took another day. All together from the time the word went forth to tell Jesus about Lazarus to the time he arrived it was 4 days. Later, when Jesus called him out of the tomb, we learn that Lazarus had been dead for 4 days.

This got me thinking. Lazarus may have already been dead when Jesus got the message. Yet we learn later, true to Jesus’ word, that the illness would not end in death.

when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” (John 11:4)

Jesus loved Lazarus, but His focus was not on healing his friend, it was on THE GLORY OF GOD.

How does this change your perspective in prayer? The two sisters of Lazarus sent a message to Jesus like any one of us might pray to Jesus. When we call out in prayer concerning a sick friend, a need we have, etc. does he WAIT as he did in the case of Lazarus? Does he ALLOW the trial to take place? It’s plainly stated that Jesus made no rush to be there for Lazarus, yet He got the message. And in their frustration and grief, Martha and Mary both griped, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died!”  Likewise, our prayers may appear unanswered when Jesus does not rush to be there as requested, and we may gripe, “Jesus!! where are you?!!” and yet, he does get the message. Our Lord is Sovereign and at times chooses to wait. But why?

FOR THE GLORY OF GOD!!

Every prayer is heard, but we can see things only from our own perspective. The Holy Spirit, however, teaches us to persevere in prayer and it’s in that endurance that God can shift our perspective to align with His. We can trust the perfect timing of our Lord, and when the frustration of our waiting beckons us to cry out “Jesus, you should have been there!!” be assured that He knows our need and God is at work conforming us into the likeness of His Son who in perfect alignment with His heavenly Father said,  “Father, not my will but YOURS be done.”

It’s all for the glory of God, my friends, and He is worthy to be praised.

Keep yourself in God’s love, Julie

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