And Was Heard
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
forthright.antville.org
Going straight to the Cross
Don't think you're getting through to God? Think
again.
And Was Heard
by Tim Hall
Seeing Jesus hanging on the cross was too much for
the disciples to bear. It must have been
especially hard for Peter, James, and John who
were with the Lord in the garden just hours
earlier. Had they not heard Jesus praying
fervently to the Father, asking that the cup be
removed from His lips? Why had God not heard that
prayer? If the Son of God can't get His prayer
through to the Father, what hope is there for mere
sons of dust?
The Hebrew writer speaks up to correct our
misunderstanding. Speaking of Jesus, he wrote:
"Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had
offered up prayers and supplications, with
vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to
save Him from death, and was heard because of His
godly fear . . ." (Hebrews 5:7, New King James
Version). Obviously, the writer was referring to
Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane. It was a prayer
offered with "vehement cries and tears", and was
addressed to the One "who was able to save Him
from death." So why didn't God hear that prayer?
The Father DID hear that prayer, according to this
passage. Our mistake occurs when we equate God's
granting of our request with God hearing our
request. That conclusion doesn't follow. It
doesn't follow with earthly fathers and their
children. There have been times when I have not
granted my children's requests, but I certainly
took the time to listen and to consider what they
were asking. So it is with God, the epitome of
Fatherhood.
James expands on this theme by urging us to "count
it all joy when you fall into various trials"
(James 1:2). Trials are no fun. They are
experiences from which we yearn to be delivered.
We pray long and hard that God deliver us from
such trials. Yet it is undeniable that God's
children are often allowed to remain in those
trials. Why? Why wouldn't God release us from pain
and suffering?
"Knowing that the testing of your faith produces
patience. But let patience have its perfect work,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking
nothing" (James 1:3,4). It is God's will that we
be perfected in preparation for eternity, and the
path to perfection frequently involves suffering
and patience. There are no shortcuts in the
refining of gold and silver, and faith is even
more precious than these (1 Peter 1:7).
Our cries to God, even when offered with "vehement
cries and tears", will often seem to fall on deaf
ears. Faith, however, reminds us that we will be
heard because of our godly fear. When it seems
that God is ignoring us, we must tell ourselves
that things are not always as they seem.