On a similar note, how many times do
our requests and our desires for an answer become idolatrous pursuits, taking
our focus from God? I think sometimes
this is why many of us end up in the furnace of refining, long waits. To purify our hearts, to help us weed out
wayward desires and idols, and to help us refocus on what we should be focused
on: God!
And most of us don’t do this on our
own, not when things are going good and we are getting what we want. Because when things are going our way, we are
content to float and to live self-centered, temporally-focused lives. And we think our relationship with Him must
be pretty good for things to be going along so nicely. And so He allows us to face “the furnace of
unanswered prayer” so that we can discover the idolatry, selfishness, pride,
self-sufficiency, and sin in our hearts, so that we learn that we need to be
pursuing God - not a comfortable, little life - and letting Him fill our hearts
and lives with what He wants for us.
Oh, how many times I do that to
myself! Making an idol out of some thing
or some answer that I am waiting for. I
pray and wait and struggle and plead and doubt and get discouraged. And then, I get to a point where I get so
depressed that I can’t pray about it anymore, where I realize that I’m worse
off to keep dwelling on this concern or request. And it’s usually then that God shows me that
I have lost focus on Him and that I have been consumed with my request. I have been trying to manipulate God with my
prayers and with my “faith” in Him to answer the way I want or think I
need.
And it’s hard to do, but when I get
to this point - when the answer I want or when my desire for an answer has
become an “idol” - I need to take my focus off of my request and put it back on
God. I need to “give up” and give the
Lord permission to answer as He will and to work in His timing. Because whatever His answer is, it’s
ultimately by Him and for His glory. And
so I pray:
“Lord, forgive me for making an idol
of this request and for pursuing the answer when I should be pursuing You. I leave it in Your hands now, and I ask You
to do as You will and to give me the strength to face this ‘unanswered’ prayer
gracefully. I know You are good and I
trust You. I may not have the great
faith that I wish I did, but I am putting my pathetic, little faith in You
right now. Thank You for being a big God
who can see what I can’t see and handle what I can’t handle. I lean on Your strength now. May You be glorified through this.”
Gods knows that we have the ability
to do this - the ability to make an idol out of our own lives. And so maybe He allows enough waiting and
enough unanswered prayer so that we get to the point where we loosen our grip
on the thing we are asking for and we begin to reach for Him instead. Long waits and “no” answers help us hold
things more loosely, keep our focus where it belongs, and remember Who owns it
all, Who it’s all about, and Who deserves the glory.
