Perhaps nothing is a greater obstacle to faith than unanswered prayers, particularly those said during times of crisis. At those moments it is easy to fall into one of two camps – God doesn’t care, or God doesn’t exist. Either answer is destructive to faith.
What we might fail to see at such a time is that God does answer, and the answer is “no.” What we may also fail to appreciate is the possibility that there is a reason God might refuse our plea, and there is a perfectly logical explanation as to why He might do so.
Probably the most common unanswered prayer is for the recovery of someone who is dying. As painful as it might be, in times of less stress, we can understand why such prayers might be seen to be unanswered. Logic demands that we acknowledge the reality that indefinite lifespans are incompatible with life on earth. If multiple generations continued to exist simultaneously, the earth would quickly become overrun and resources would be unable to sustain us.
In short, as painful as it might be for the survivors, physical death is a necessity in the perpetual cycle of life on earth.
While dealing with death is certainly one of life’s greatest stressors, there are many more circumstances that elicit pleas to God for relief. And, while God may not deliver as hoped, He does have a remedy for the pain.
It’s called time.
There is an old expression “Time heals all wounds.” While scars may remain, and memories of unpleasant experiences are not easily erased, there is some validity to the healing power of time.
Most of us, in our lifetime, have had the experience of some degree of physical pain that seemed, at the time, to be unbearable. When we reflect on that experience after time has passed, we find that, while we can remember having the pain, we are incapable of re-experiencing the actual sensation. The memory (scar) remains, but the wound has healed.
When it comes to emotional trauma, the wounds may not heal as easily. Some, in fact, may take a lifetime to heal. Some we may carry with us until we step through death’s door.
Perhaps time is God’s miracle drug for healing a wounded spirit. Perhaps we can expedite the healing process by recognizing that in an eternity of existence, the longest human lifespan is less than a single tick of God’s clock. If we continue to exist in a spirit form after the death of the human body, our lifespan in eternity makes human suffering less and less significant.
Perhaps we need to embrace the fact that, when God fails to respond to our prayers as we would wish, it may be simply because God sees things from a larger perspective than we are capable of seeing. It may be that our emotional pain may be the key to greater good.
Many charities, medical research efforts, and other social movements have grown from the seeds of emotional pain.
If we trust in His judgment, we may find the relief we seek in knowing that perhaps our pain serves a larger purpose.
Perhaps God’s gift of healing time grants us the opportunity to discover the purpose of our pain and use that knowledge to help others.
Time will tell.