Was God Wringing His Hands?

Today I read a blog of a family who has been trying to figure out what is wrong with their child for two and half years. Her symptoms have not clued doctors in to what is happening and she suffers so much. The parents are praying, of course and doing all they can to get some answers.

The pain of the unknown is difficult when it comes to your child's suffering. We were fortunate that it only took us eight months to get a diagnosis for Macayla. Of course we hated the diagnosis, but I often thought how much more difficult it would have been to walk that road 100 years ago. Macayla would have digressed much faster and actually died of starvation since there were no feeding tubes back then. There would have been no medical answer as to why this was happening. So many families all over the world today experience this all the time.

In light of my last post, this got me thinking about Macayla's last day with us. Someone mentioned that they heard people were praying Macayla would pull through while others were praying for a peaceful passing. They said something to the effect, "We have to get everyone on the same page so this girl can go home!" This comment brings up a crucial point in our understanding of God and His sovereignty. Was God in heaven wringing His hands over what to do?

Did God say, "Some are asking Me to bring Macayla home, others are asking Me to let her stay; what Am I to do?"

I don't think God was confused one bit on how to answer those prayers. I also know that God is fully aware of the wonderful love and intentions of people and their prayers for us and Macayla. Like the family mentioned above, we also received advice during Macayla's fight with Battens disease to anoint her with oil and pray over her, laying hands on her, for healing. I often asked since I was already praying for her healing, "Will that oil suddenly make my prayers audible to God?" The point is, like in my last post, there are times when godly people give seemingly contradictory counsel or pray in contradictory ways over the same circumstance. We forget that prayer changes us, not God. Prayer has impact and "the prayer of a righteous person has much strength as it is working." (James 5:16 ESV) I think this translation of the Greek carries the clearest understanding in this case. It is not a magic formula of prayer + righteous person = prayer answered the way I want. It is simply that our prayers, when offered up righteously, have much impact and that impact may manifest in a way we did not expect.

I pray for this family to get answers and healing. I pray their precious little girl will be free from her suffering. That is my prayer and I must trust God to answer it in His way, not mine. There is nothing wrong with my prayer and I believe it is in God's will for me to pray these things as it was for me and others to pray them for Macayla. But Macayla's death is not evidence that those prayers were wrong or uttered by unrighteous people. Those who prayed for Macayla to pull through knew there was a God in heaven who could do just that. Those who prayed for a peaceful passing knew the same. But all who prayed were changed in some way and to some degree by their prayers. That in and of itself is powerful and of great strength. Pray for this family too. Those prayers will have impact on both them and us if we all stay tuned and see what happens.