“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” Matthew 6:10

Heavenly Perspective

For months I have been praying for a couple who are in the battle of their lives. The wife has been given a very discouraging, dire diagnosis of a rare and aggressive cancer. After months of treatment, hospitalizations, nausea, and fatigue, after months of fighting the good fight, the reports came back that things are increasingly dreadful. After all this time and all this treatment, she is not only no better, she is rather worse.

So I sit before the Lord with a heavy heart thinking through the Scriptures that say, “Is anything too hard for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27) and “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). I believe these statements. God can do all things. He has no limits, no restrictions, no constraints, no bounds. He is God and I do not doubt His ability or His authority. 

Have you ever found yourself in this situation? Praying and believing and yet experiencing seeming defeat? How should I pray? Is it time to accept what seems to be inevitable? We are taught to pray and persevere and never, ever give up on God. But what if God is calling this saint home? Not everyone is healed, obviously, or Christians would never die. Is praying for healing then praying against the very thing God is doing? Or is God looking for a faith that breaks through, a faith that ignites healing? So many questions whirl through my head and trouble my spirit.

And then I remembered Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prayed to the Father that if the cup He faced could not pass from Him, that the Father’s will and not His own be done. He did not fear to ask for His own desire, but at the same time was willing to accept God’s plan if that desire was not fulfilled. In 1 Samuel 12:23 the prophet states, “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you…” Peace settled upon my heart.

This sweet saint is in God’s hands and He knows the plans He has for her. I can trust in His will and His compassion for her. As for me, until her last breath comes, I will pray and ask for healing. I will pray in faith that God knows the outcome and it is good. She may experience the physical healing we long for or she may find herself face to face with the God of all glory, forever made free. I will trust in God’s good plans. Your will be done.

“Father, You are sovereign. Father, You are good. We put our trust in Your wisdom and compassion. We place our faith in Your perfect will for us. In all things, even this, You are our provision, our comfort, and our hope. To God be the glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

“Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; incline Your ear to me; in the day that I call, answer me speedily.” Psalm 102:2