Praying for help in times of trouble

We all experience times of trouble when we cry out for help. From time to time, we are faced with things that seem beyond our resources to cope with situations such as illness; death; relationship breakdowns; money problems; important decisions; and uncertainty at work or in the home. In these times of trouble, as Christians, we are likely to reach out in prayer to God for help. In doing so, we are faced with our expectations of what God will do, how God acts, and how he provides answers.

In our heart we initially are likely to call upon God to fix the situation with speedy observable action in answer to our prayers. God sometimes does use the Divine Energy to break into our circumstances, and mysteriously and awesomely alter them, transcend them, and change them in such a way that what we find ourselves facing is something very different. A biblical illustration would be in Mark 2, where a man is cleansed of his leprosy, and the flesh was restored on his hands, he was made new and fresh. These are times when God acts directly, in ways we might call: Miracle. However, I suggest that God does not always, dare I say often, work in this way, but rather in two other ways.

God often acts in what can be called Collaboration. God comes alongside us and activates the wisdom and courage of ourselves and others. God says, “I will solve the problems you are facing with you, instead of for you, in partnership.” A biblical example of collaboration is the story of Mary. She finds herself in a very difficult position of being pregnant and unmarried. The angel Gabriel comes to Mary with the proposal that she was to be the mother of Messiah. Much was being asked of Mary and when the Divine One proposed that she collaborate with him in the doing of this great saving deed, she said “yes.” God made a proposal and Mary said, in effect, “I second the motion.” In times of trouble in our own lives, God helps us in times of trouble by working with and through our spirit and in interactions with doctors, teachers, sages, spiritual leaders, friends, and others in our lives. In seeking answers to our prayers, we can look beyond Miracle to Collaboration.

A third way God acts in response to prayer in times of trouble is to give us the gift of Endurance. These are the times when the Holy One, for purposes of his own, instead of solving things for us, or even offering to work out things with us, comes to us in our quiet and dark places and says, “What I will do is to enable you to endure what will not be changed. The change that comes will be in your spirit, and in all those who are touched by this event, with the gift of endurance. A biblical example is with the “thorn in the flesh” of St. Paul (2 Corinthians 12:7). We don’t know what the thorn is, but I’m sure that Paul begged God to heal it. He probably sought whatever collaborative medical advice was available that day. However, there came a moment of tremendous revelation, where God says to Saint Paul, “The thorn in your flesh is not going to be removed; the situation is not going to be changed, but I will give you grace sufficient to bear it, and to endure that which will not be changed.” In seeking answers to our prayers, we can look beyond Miracle and Collaboration to Endurance.

“Isaiah 40: 28-31: The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless.  Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted, but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Acknowledgement: This article was inspired by listening to a talk given many years ago by Rev. John Claypool, an Episcopalian priest, at an International Anglican Fellowship of Prayer Conference.