Praying for good

I was praying for someone over my lunch break today who is having surgery. I prayed, of course, for a good outcome, healing, etc. Everyone prays for a "good" outcome. Nobody usually prays for death or some complication to arise to make the situation worse. Why would anyone pray for that? When people are terrified of something, they are usually terrified of the worst that can happen. Someone dies. That would be a bad outcome. Someone is healed. That's a good outcome.

Many people prayed for Hayden after his accident. There was no lack of prayer. Many people prayed for Chad. They both still died. That was not the outcome everyone prayed for. "And if not." That's something that Margaret Feinberg had in her Bible Study on joy. We have to be prepared for the "if not" because everything that we pray for is not going to come to pass. We are not in control, God is.

What do we pray for then? Prayers have been lifted up for Phil H. Now he's back to work. God answered their prayer. Miracles do happen. Life is prolonged in some cases. Does the outcome of a situation depend on prayer? The will of God is going to be done. Not everyone is going to live. Not everyone is going to be healed. It just doesn't happen.

I can't help but feel jealous when someone else's dire situation works out for them. Not that I want everyone to experience a bad outcome, but it's like someone else got something and I didn't. Why should their situation work out when mine didn't? How can someone else (almost everyone else) get in a car accident and pretty much walk away from it? There is nobody else I know who had a loved one get killed in a car accident. It's rare. It's odd. It's almost unheard of. It's unusual.

When Pastor asks us to pray for someone, he asks us to pray for the favorable grace of God. What is favorable? To be with the Lord is far better, I thought. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." We praise God when someone is ok through a surgery, like Jonathon. We lament when someone is ill, like Nancy M. Again, what are we praying for? He wondered aloud how someone who is healthy like Laura J. can get cancer and die when other people who abuse their bodies with nicotine and alcohol live on and on. Doesn't God number our days on this earth? We can't die before our time.

Death is the enemy. We try to stay safe from it. We try to protect our children from it. When we are sick, we get treatment. We marvel when someone is allowed 80 or 90 years on this earth, then we are still sad when they die, even if they are a believer.

The person who dies as a believer is fine. The people who are left behind are the ones who suffer. God can and does use pain and suffering for good. We can't avoid pain and suffering in this world, no matter how hard we try. So, what do we pray for? For God to help in a surgery? Hopefully he already is. We can obviously pray for a good outcome, but how about if we pray for peace for the family to trust whatever happens? Good or bad?

I do not know where I'm going with this. I know that God is good no matter what happens. He is worthy of praise always. It doesn't mean He loves us any less if our child dies or when other bad things happen. It doesn't mean He loves someone else more if their child lives. We blame God for things that aren't His fault all the time. Help me with this Lord! Love you sweet boy!