Talk to me.

Posted on by

The brainWe all know God hears us when we pray. Scripture says he sees our requests as they’re forming in our brains, way ahead of their reaching our mouths. By the time the words are rolling off our tongues, he’s already got the whole paragraph.

These promises are from Isaiah 65, and in context God is (1) speaking to the children of Israel and (2) referring to our perfect existence in the New Heaven and Earth. But I view these verses not just for Israel but also for us, and not just future-distant but for now, based on God being immutable and absolute. What he promised for them, he can also do for us. And what he guarantees in the future, he can also do now.

God is today who he always has been.

Literally hundreds of us have been calling out to him to answer prayers concerning my sister Mary as she walks a road common to many: cancer, surgery, and chemo. (So far, radiation has not been recommended.) For a month we’ve been praying against the ravaging nausea most chemo patients experience, and this morning we learned God answered in the affirmative.

YesWe can rejoice that Mary reported no vomiting has taken place since her infusion yesterday, and only mild nausea has come and gone during the last 24 hours. This surely is God having said yes. He hasn’t told us why she suffered horrible nausea before, and he hasn’t promised she won’t again.

But for today, we can lift our hands and rejoice with Mary singing, “Thank you, Father!”

Prayer is mysterious, but one thing is certain. It is an interaction with The Almighty. Though he doesn’t give us all yeses, sometimes he does. Skeptics say, “You mean there’s no rhyme or reason to it? It’s just random? Why would you ascribe a lack of nausea to answered prayer?”

We have some very good reasons:

  • Because God says there is power in prayer.
  • Because God promises to listen to our prayers and answer them.
  • Because Jesus told his disciples to pray.
  • Because Jesus himself prayed.

And since we believe those 4 things, we continue to pray.

In the same biblical chapter quoted above, the Lord also reprimands those who choose not to talk to him through prayer. He says he had tried to engage his people in conversation, but unbelievably they weren’t interested. God said, “I called, but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen.” ( v. 12) And he follows that with some pretty harsh judgment over this group.

Today God is still calling all of us to communicate with him, and so we continue to pray for Mary and many others, because when he answers in the affirmative, he makes our hearts sing!

“Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. I’m praising God for answered prayer about my nausea! Nothing but mild twinges this time, and I even ate dinner!
  2. The feeding tube continues to be a problem. Pray for an earlier date with the specialist.

Slow and Sure?

Posted on by

Today Mary took in chemo infusion #4. With 14 left, progress seems slow and not always sure. It’s tempting to say, “These four and no more.” In a fight against cancer, things sometimes get worse before they get better.

Fiery furnaceBut God is monitoring her situation closely. As Mary goes through the fire of cancer and chemo, the Lord is keeping his hand firmly on the thermostat and won’t let it get hot enough to overwhelm her. He’s right next to her, in the fire with her, exactly as he was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego of Bible times.

No life is without its concentrated heat: diseases, relationship troubles, accidents, distress of all kinds. God’s intention is that our sufferings produce a willingness to endure whatever he allows. 1 Peter 5:10 says, “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10)

God doesn’t remove suffering the minute it pounces. Instead he lets it come and sometimes stay “a little while” as Paul says, partly to increase our patience to handle hardship. When Nate found out he had cancer that was going to take his life in just a few weeks, we talked about how difficult it was to accept. Finally he said, “I shouldn’t ask, ‘Why me?’ Instead I should ask, ‘Why not me?’ ”

That realization probably didn’t make his suffering any easier, but he found a measure of satisfaction in accepting what he knew was the truth. In Scripture Paul not only listed his own afflictions, he let us know he saw each one as a (gulp) privilege. And just when we’re wondering how he could possibly have seen it that way, he tells us:

“I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) And that strength-to-endure is available to all of us. Jesus waits for us to ask for it, but when we do, he delivers.

Mary's view during chemoMary asked for it today and felt it when he made a special delivery of his strength-to-endure, right into her “little chemo cubicle” during infusion #4. And she’s confident he’ll see her through 14 more. It may go slow, but it will definitely be sure.

“Everywhere and in all things I have learned…. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:12-13)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. So thankful for the prayers of many and the special peace I felt at the hospital today. No nausea so far, at bedtime Monday! Thanks for praying against it for the next 24 hours.
  2. Pray about feeding tube pain, as the expert can’t see me until July 2. Please pray for an earlier appointment.
  3. Praise God from whom all blessings flow, and I counted many blessings today.

Where to?

Posted on by

Dorm roomThe writer’s conference is over, and I’m home, unpacked, and working to organize all the notes, books, handouts, and CDs accumulated during those inspirational 5 days.

As I drove the 112 miles from my house to Wheaton College last Tuesday, I spent some time talking to God about his purposes for the conference. “I’m not entirely sure why I’m going, Lord,” I said, “but I certainly felt you urging me to sign up. Where are you taking me? I’m anxious to know.”

On the first day, during the first meeting, our speaker gave a motivational talk, and it was as if she’d heard me in the car. She said, “Most of you aren’t sure what these next days will hold, and some of you aren’t sure why you even came. We’d all like to know right up front where God is taking us, but like Abraham of the Bible, he isn’t telling yet.”

She (and God) had my attention.

She cited Genesis 12:1 and God’s directive to Abraham. “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go…” Poor Abraham didn’t get the specifics, just like most of us attending the conference. But almost all of us had felt God’s instruction to go, just like Abraham .

MapOur speaker went on. “God didn’t let Abraham in on where he was taking him or what was awaiting him. Surely Abraham believed it was something good, or he wouldn’t have taken that big step of saying goodbye to his relatives, his occupation, his traditions, and all things familiar.

Or maybe he just knew enough about God to know it would be worth his while to follow him anywhere, even if he didn’t get to see the map. Those of us at the writer’s conference didn’t have to take the massive leap of faith Abraham did, but we did experience a mini-version of it, unsure of our end results.

???????????????????????????????Mary’s walk into cancer and its dreadful treatment is another example of God leading someone to whom he hasn’t shown the map. And so far, the journey has been difficult. Even so, Mary is in Abraham’s camp, knowing enough about God to believe it’ll be worth her while to follow him anywhere… even through surgery, chemotherapy, and beyond.

Our conference speaker ended her talk with a very encouraging word while still in Genesis 12:1. She said, “Just before Abraham left, God gave him a valuable piece of information, a sense of the map. He said, ‘Go… and I will show you’.”

Mary is on the way, and little by little, God will show her the map.

“He who calls you is faithful.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. I’m praising God for so many people telling me today they’ll be praying tomorrow during my 4th infusion.
  2. Thankful also for a very full day, helping to keep my mind off tomorrow.
  3. Please pray for our appointment with a specialist tomorrow to investigate the pain caused by my feeding tube.
  4. Pray against the overwhelming nausea that seems to follow chemo.