Meg said:
If one prays to God to have his/her hearing restored, it will be selfish. THere are many much more sufferings out there than being deaf. God does not grant wishes to every single prayer - he focuses on the more suffering ones.
It is not like asking Santa for one thing. Praying to God is to find out what God has planned for you and understand His plan. Asking God to do something that YOU want is rarely granted.
God only answers prayers when we ask Him to help us understand what HE wants us to do, not the other way around.
As Buddhism often said, life is suffering and suffering is life. Who ever said that life is pain-free? Curveballs are there to teach us humility, compassion and wisdom. It is up to us to learn from them or not, not rage against the entire world and God, etc. Anger gets nowhere.
Maybe this will help you understand where some of us are coming from, Meg. I found my answer why I don't think it is selfish. It's not selfish. We deprive ourselves a lot because we think someone needs better and that God can't handle everything. He handles everything. Nothing's too much for Him. If someone's asking a selfish prayer, God will know it, and he'll take care of it in His way....and...sorry that I overreacted. I just didn't want people to leave thinking they can't ask their heart's desire. That includes hearing...
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
"Courage to Believe"
Listen to this Simple Living message in:
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"Then [God] brought [Abram] outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven,
and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He said to
him, 'So shall your descendants be.'" -Genesis 15:5 NKJV
(Symbol-Stars)
Abram's wife, Sarai, was past childbearing age, when God made this
promise. It must have been difficult for Abram to believe this, but Abram's
faith never failed and true to God's promise, Isaac was born.
Woody Livingston told Guideposts that as a child, he had to wear
hearing aids in order to hear. At 15, he went completely deaf. But he learned
to lip-read and went on to earn a BA degree in Industrial Design.
At his first job, he met Jennifer. It took him a while to get her to
accept a date because of his deafness, but he persisted. Four months
later they married. He joined Jennifer in a Bible study that caused him to
become a believer. One night he dreamed that he heard trumpets playing
a beautiful fanfare and music that sounded like a symphony. It seemed
as if God were telling him that his hearing would be restored. Though
that seemed difficult for Woody to believe, he had faith.
He moved to a new job and during the required physical, the doctor
suggested a cochlear implant. Woody agreed to try it and although it took
months to adjust to the sudden barrage of sound, weeks of therapy
brought the miracle. Woody could hear the voices of his wife and children for
the first time.
Lord, sometimes I find myself in impossible situations. Help me to
trust you always! Amen.