by Marilynn Chadwick
Not getting what you want when you want it may be one of the best training tactics for sharpening your prayers. Notice I didn’t say not getting what you want at all. I find that people are more easily able to dismiss their heart’s desire altogether than to wait for it. It is easier to give up in defeat and walk away from a dream than to stand on God’s promise, clinging to the hope God has placed in your heart.
That’s why waiting on God is such an incredible test of faith—I refer to this time in my life as “wait training.” When my husband and I endured many grueling years of infertility, I fed myself on the promises of God’s Word about healing—too many to count—day after day, month after month. During those days of waiting, I learned to hear God’s whispers of encouragement and trust his character. In short, I learned the secret of what the apostle John calls “abiding in Christ” (John 15:7).
The lessons during those days of weakness and waiting trained me to hear God’s voice. I learned to stay yoked to him through faith, rest, and humility when my own strength fell short. Humility is a constant companion when you are desperately waiting for something. Dependency on God makes you realize just how small you really are. Strangely, I found that it brought freedom. It also gives strength in the spiritual battles that come daily.
The apostle Paul discovered this same aspect of God’s grace during his own times of trial. He had pleaded with God to take away what the Bible calls a “thorn in the flesh,” some weakness or affliction that Paul said tormented him. But the Lord comforted Paul with these words, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul eventually got to the point that he welcomed weakness and hardship and could even say, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). As a wise friend once remarked after weathering multiple family tragedies, her faith still strong, “Control is just an illusion.”
And despite all my tools, tips, personal disciplines, and strategies for prayer, I keep learning the same lesson—some of God’s most amazing work occurs when I am flattened by life.
What does that have to do with our power in prayer? Just this—our times of weakness don’t repel God or wreck our prayers. In fact, God’s grace shines brightest through our broken places. If you have crash landed into the end of your own strength and have nothing to bring to God but your broken places, give thanks. For you just may discover that his strength really does work best when you are weak. Like Paul, you may experience your greatest spiritual victories.
This time of brokenness could be the most valuable thing you bring to your personal journey in prayer. You may be on the brink of seeing your mess become your miracle. For it’s when we are broken that we’re most likely to hear God’s whispers and experience his greatest power.