Surprised by Grace (16): It’s sufficient

If we lost our job, we would pray that God provide a new job.
If we found out to have cancer, we would pray that God would heal us.
If we lost our boyfriend, we would pray that he returns or a better one comes around.

That’s just human nature.
No exception.
No surprise.

Prayers are meant to produce result.
Specifically, results to our liking.
So we pray for getting out of a hole, financial, health, or relationship.

Conversely, no one prays for a biopsy result to show malignant cancer!

If God is good, our prayers would be answered, positively.

Therefore, no one would be surprised if saints like Moses, Elijah, Peter and Paul prayed for healing and miracles.
Rather, we would be surprised if they didn’t.

What’s surprising though is, it happened to Paul, once.
Not for prayers answered.
But rather unanswered.

Rembrandt: Apostle Paul (From Wikimedia Commons)

Paul confessed as much: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.” (2 Cor 12:8, NIV)
First, why needed 3 times? Couldn’t once work?
Or twice?
And, did three work?

The surprise was: No!
Paul said it was a thorn to torment him.
It stayed with him.
Prayers failed for him.

Would we expect prayers refused as grace?
Of course not!
Prayers answered might be.
Prayers unanswered has a name: curse, or maybe punishment!

Here lies the surprise:
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:8-9, NIV)

Unanswered prayers is exactly Grace.

Sufficient for what?
Clearly not for health.
Likely it is sufficient for Paul to carry on living, facing the pain and inconvenience of the thorn; living for the work entrusted him, with hardships and persecution ahead.

What’s so surprising is that prayers unanswered is precisely the proof of God’s grace—further down it’s said to be the presence of God’s power (verse 9: so that Christ’s power may rest on me)!

Problem solved? Not grace!
Health regained? Not grace!
Happiness returned? Not grace!

What then is grace?
The presence of God’s power through whatever tough times lying ahead, not the absence.

It’s unanswered prayers served with Christ’s presence.
Sufficient to soldier on.

Be prepared for surprise!