Why does God answer 'yes' to some prayers and 'no' to others? Why does God miraculously heal some people and not others? Why does disaster strike one city and not another? Bad theology surrounding these questions can be very detrimental.
Bad Theology Hurts the Suffering
I know that God answers prayer. And we need to pray. God tells us to ask, and it will be given to us (Matthew 7:7). But what are we as believers to infer from natural disasters or epidemics where people's prayers seemingly go unanswered? Can we simply draw straight lines between our requests and God's answers? Years ago, I heard a pastor tell of his cancer that went into remission. When he told his congregation the good news, several commented, "We knew God would heal you. He had to. So many people were praying for you."
While the pastor was thankful for others' prayers, he also knew God did not owe him healing. Faithful believers throughout the ages have earnestly prayed and yet not been healed. The apostle Paul was not healed in order that God might show that his power could be made perfect in Paul's weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
And then there was my own son, Paul, who died as an infant. We had prayed, fasted, and asked friends to pray for his healing. Several years after his death, we met a man who said when he learned of our loss, "Don't take this wrong, but we prayed for all of our children before they were born. And they were all born healthy." We had no words.
I have often been discouraged that others have been rescued while I was still suffering, because of the bad theology I had experienced. Prosperity gospel proponents have told me that if I had prayed in faith, my body would have been healed, my son would have been spared, and my marriage would have been restored. It was all up to me. If I just had the faith, I would have had a better outcome.
Their words have left me bruised and disillusioned, wondering what I was doing wrong.
But that bad theology is not the gospel. God's response to our prayers is not dependent upon our worthiness but rather rests upon on his great mercy (Daniel 9:18). Because of Christ, who took our punishment, God is always for us (Romans 8:31). He wants to give us all things. Christ himself is ever interceding for us (Romans 8:31–34).
If you are in Christ, God is completely for you. Your suffering is not a punishment. Your struggles are not because you didn't pray the right way, or because you didn't pray enough, or because you have weak faith or insufficient intercessors. It is because God is using your suffering in ways that you may not understand now, but one day you will. One day you will see how God used your affliction to prepare you for an incomparable weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17).
This is the gospel, not that bad theology. And it holds for all who love Christ.
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