|
- Whose Prayer Did God Answer?
- Article by By Barrington H.
Brennen, September 8, 2004
Did God really send Hurricanes Frances and Ivan because
we are too wicked? Certainly not. God is not
the author pain and destruction. He is he is the author of life,
peace, grace and mercy. Nature is angry. The battle
between Christ and Satan is occurring in nature and our very own
minds. This battle will continue until the second coming of
Christ, and "all things become new." It is not
right to say that pain comes from God when to Him we are to go for
refuge from the source of pain. God is so great he bring peace
in the storm and unity from confusion. Read poem and article
What God Hath
Promised
God hath not promised
skies always blue,
Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
But
God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
God hath not promised we
shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.
God hath not promised
smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep.
By Annie
J. Flint, 1919
|
Whose
Prayer Did God Answer?
The pain of Hurricane Frances still lingers on. On every
island of the 750-mile-long archipelago (Inagua to Abaco) many were praying
that the hurricane will not come their way; and if it did, let it be after it
diminished in strength. Which one of the islands got its prayers answered?
This little humorous story begins to answer the question.
"One morning a church minister noticed a little
boy on the very front row mumbling something with his eyes closed. It was
a very small church, so the minister could hear the boy's whispering,
"Tokyo" over and over. The minister was curious, so after the
service he went to the little boy and said, "Son, I was so glad to
see you praying so fervently in church this morning. I think I heard you
saying "Tokyo" much of the time. Is there a reason you were
praying for that town?" The child looked down at his shoes, he
twisted inside his shirt and then said, 'Well, you see sir, I took my
geography test yesterday, and if God doesn't make Tokyo the capital of
France, I am going to get it wrong."
Think about it, dear friends, what would happen if God
answered everybody's prayer the way this boy wanted his to be answered. How
long would Tokyo remain the capital of Japan? Similarly, is it right to say
that since Nassau was spared the brunt of the hurricane, it means that the
prayers of Nassuvians were answered and not those of Grand Bahamians? Some
have already implied that the reason Nassau was spared the hurricane’s
powerful winds was because there were lots of people praying in Nassau. Are we
suggesting that God did not recognize the thousands of prayers from Grand
Bahama, San Salvador, Long Island, and Eleuthera? If this is true, it would
make God out to be mean, inconsiderate, and biased.
- POINTS TO REMEMBER
- If you pray for rain today and your neighbor prays for sunshine, would
that mean that God would have to follow you around with your own rain
cloud and at the same time provide sunshine for your neighbor. It would
certainly be funny to see everyone running around with his/her own
"prayer-controlled climate." This would be difficult to do on
our congested streets, even for God. The fact is this is not how God
works. He always answers prayer the right way and at the right time.
There are certain points we must understand: 1) God did not send the
hurricane to The Bahamas. The whole earth is groaning as a result of
sin. Satan is the source of all pain and misery, including those
inflicted through the powerful forces of a hurricane. 2) Hurricane
Frances was not God's wrath on wicked Bahamians. 3) God heard all the
prayers from all the islands during the hurricane and He answered all of
them. Now it’s up to us to believe that He did answer.
Why would God let a giant hurricane destroy the homes and
livelihood of such wonderful and innocent people? Isn’t He all powerful? The
truth is there are two forces–good and evil. God did not remove evil from
the earth so that he may prove to Satan He is fair and that the people He
created can love him out of a true motive of love and not of force. Meanwhile,
the vicious forces of evil are seen in nature, the body, and the mind. It is
certainly a battle. When the smoke clears, only one person will win, and that’s
God. There will be no more hurricanes. At that time, it will be clear to all
that God has been just and merciful.
Hurricanes and other crises help us to become better
people, more disciplined, loving, and caring. Christians would not be
Christians without sacrifice, pain, and disappointments. Often the pains are
experienced through the unexpected forces of nature, like Hurricane Frances.
- NO PAIN, NO GAIN
- I am happy that there is a God who is in charge, and who is merciful,
fair and loving. God did hear and answer the prayers of those in West
End, Grand Bahama; United Estates, San Salvador; and Lower Bogue,
Eleuthera. Why then was there so much damage and so much loss? Because
God did not promise there will be no pain and suffering. "He did
not promise there will always be sunshine, . . . joy without sorrow, or
peace without pain. . . . But God did promise strength for the day,
grace for trials, unfailing sympathy, undying love." It is just up
to everyone to trust and believe that God always hears, always
understands, always does the right thing at the right time. The truth is
Nassau’s "hurricane" will be coming even though we will all
be praying that it doesn’t come our way. Hurricane Frances will give
all of The Bahamas the opportunity to rebuild lives, to participate in
national building, to become a more caring and sharing community--less
superficial and more understanding. Hurricane Frances has not only
provided for us the privilege of pain, but the opportunity for growth
and healing. God always answers prayers.
|
