So, I finished reading God Is Here, by Steven Case. It was real good up until the last section, the author was talking about prayer and the things we should pray for, he says we shouldn't ask God to fix our problems (I'm think wha?! where is this going, where is this coming from even). One example he used was that of a loved one with cancer, he says we shouldn't pray for them to be cured (he also seems to think it's selfish), but we should pray for them to be able to deal with the cancer, help ease the pain, and "help the family move on when the inevitable happens", by this time (there were other examples too), I was in shock, this guy is agh, there's no words for it. He also goes on to say we should thank God for pain, that pain is from God, and that it's for our growth. Now I would agree to say that pain can be used for our growth, but this guy is pretty much saying God created pain, and for that reason.
In a way it makes me laugh, in another way it makes me pity Mr.Case. I know people who once had cancer, or other terminal illnesses, and have been healed by God, does Mr.Case think God is incapable of healing?, Their doctors were certainly astonished. How is it selfish? They get to live longer lives, and share their testimony of how God cured the "incurable", with believers and unbelievers alike.
It's a strange hope, but maybe someday Steve Case or a loved one of his will be diagnosed with terminal cancer and through someone's "selfish" prayer God will heal them.
I gotta agree with ya. Some people think it's being humble and noble to never ask God for anything. People ask God for things all the time in the Bible. If it's in His will He'll answer the prayer. If it's not, He won't. But I don't think He minds us asking.
ReplyDeleteMark - Hulkster
markdmoreland.com
Steven Case presents an interesting point concerning thanking God for pain. Part of me wants to agree with him when I think about the scripture found in the book of James where it says to "consider it joy, my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." I think that more often than not in our daily lives whenever we feel pain our initial reaction is usually anger... sometimes towards God. There are many illustrations in the Bible where a certain individual will face 'trials', or times of hardship and it is because of his/her/nation's faith in God that the person (or nation) is delivered. And I almost want to agree with Steven with the idea that pain is of God for growth. Actually I suppose this is the type of thing that I struggle with in my own faith. Prayer sometimes can scare the hell out of me. But I will go ahead and say that to pray for healing of any kind is certainly not a selfish thought. If anything it can be a very selfless thought seeing that you could be praying for a friend, or family member to be healed so that he/she may no longer feel pain. I think Case lacks compassion in this aspect, and comes off in a very cult-like manner where extreme discipline practices are the foundation of 'growth'.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I just read your post and had some thoughts of my own.
Marshall
I just read this, and I thought that I'd have a few things to say. I don't agree with subcribing to the idea that pain comes from God. The pastor at our church gave us a "formula": Anything good comes from God, and anything bad comes from the devil. It can seem too simplistic, but when it comes to thanking God for for pain?
ReplyDeleteIt does seem to me that he doesn't believe that God has the ability to heal. It doesn't hurt to ask, does it? I mean, Abraham asked for God to spare a city even if it's just for 5 good people.
Just sharing :)
~sugared henna
Well, I'd have to disagree with that formula, we can't give the devil that much credit by saying "anything bad" comes from him. Some things are just part of the human condition. Even bad things (no matter where or who they can from) can have a good effect on our lives. A good read is The Problem Of Pain, by C.S. Lewis.
ReplyDeleteSo I've been reading this book for like four months or so. I haven't gotten to the end yet (I do like the book a lot, I'm just taking it slow). The book is centered around ol' Brother Lawrence's writings, which do embrace suffering... so perhaps BL deserves a little credit for Mr. Case's case :).
ReplyDeleteIn general, good stuff, though.
Well the things Brother Lawrence said are seperated from Case's explinations as I'm sure you've seen, and if I remember correctly, this part wasn't even in the explinations, it's definately on Case's head, you'll see when you get there, I think it's in the Gathered Thoughts.
ReplyDelete