Duc in Altum

How often have you prayed and wondered why God has not acted?  Your prayer is fervent and filled with trust in God, but the answer did not seem to come.  How easy is it for us to become so frustrated at such times.

There was a time in the life of Jesus when His friends asked Him for help, and they did not hear from Him.  At least, they did not hear from Him initially.  And when they did hear from Him, it seemed like it was too late.

You are probably familiar with the story.  It begins with Jesus' friends Mary and Martha sending a message to Jesus.  Jesus is with His disciples.  The messenger relays that the one whom Jesus loves is ill.  The sisters are telling him that their brother Lazarus is ill, really ill.

Jesus, of course, knows everything about the situation.  In response, He waits.  He does not immediately go to the town of Bethany in order to be with the sisters and heal their brother.  Instead, He remains where He is with the disciples for two more days.

We can imagine that this must have been difficult for Mary and Martha.  They knew Jesus is capable of helping their brother, and they trusted that when they asked Him, He would come.  Yet, as each day went by and Jesus did not come, they must have struggled to understand what was happening. 

Where is Jesus?  We know that He can help Lazarus.  We need You now.  Please come.

And then while they are waiting, Lazarus dies.

We can only imagine how that must have felt for Mary and Martha.  They knew that Jesus had healed people that were ill, and if only He had been there, Lazarus would have been saved.  They were sure of that.

But now, it was too late.  Their brother had passed away.  Lazarus had been buried, and now Mary and Martha had begun the period of mourning.  Their prayers had not been answered.  Their hopes had been dashed.

Perhaps Jesus would come to comfort them in their loss.

Jesus tells the disciples that it was good for Him to wait.  And He plainly tells them that Lazarus has died.

Of course the disciples urge Jesus not to go because people in Jerusalem and the area nearby, including Bethany were Mary and Martha, live are ready to stone Jesus.

Jesus explains that because it is not yet His hour, it is safe for Him to go to Bethany.

When Jesus arrives near the home of Mary and Martha, He is greeted by Martha.  She proclaims that if only He had been there before Lazarus died, Jesus could have saved him.

Jesus tells Martha that Lazarus will rise again.  Martha reponds that she knows he will rise again at the last day.

Then Martha shows an important spark of faith.  Disappointed that Jesus had not come before her brother died, she adds that even now she knows that whatever Jesus asks from God, God will grant Him.

She puts the matter in Jesus' hands, but she has faith that even a miracle could occur.

When Jesus meets Mary, she repeats the same idea as Martha that if Jesus had been there earlier, He could have saved Lazarus from death.

When Jesus sees Mary weeping and the mourners, He asks to see where Lazarus is buried.  And Jesus weeps.

Although comforted by Jesus' presence, Mary and Martha might still feel the hurt that He had not come sooner and saved their brother.

When He comes to the tomb, Jesus asks for the stone to be moved away.  Martha protests because of the odor.  And Jesus reminds her that if she believed, she would see the glory of God. 

Jesus prays out loud to the Father, and then He calls Lazarus to come out from the tomb.

Lazarus comes out to the astonishment of every one but Jesus.

We can only imagine the reaction of Mary and Martha to seeing their brother alive again.  What a miracle!

And they must have realized that their prayers had been answered.  Jesus had come and done the incredible in order to restore Lazarus to his sisters.

They had prayed for Him to come and save their brother.  Their prayers had been answered, but not in the way which they expected.  They had receive much more.

Their brother was alive, and they had seen the awesome power of God act in their very presence.

Although it must have been difficult for Mary and Martha when Jesus did not come before their brother died, they continued to trust in Jesus.  They placed everything in His hands.  By doing so, they were open to receiving an amazing answer to their prayers--the miracle of Lazarus raised from the dead.

We might want to remember this story when we fail to see answers to our prayers.  Or when we fail to see answers that we expect.  Instead, we need to remember that Jesus hears every one of our prayers.  He is faithful, and He will answer our prayers.

His answers might not be what we expect.  At that point, we have to recognize that it is we that need to change rather than God.  We often get in the way of receiving what God has for us because we believe that it is not the best for us.


We need to trust in Him and to be open to how He wants to work in our life.  Through that trust and openness, we can receive the answers to our prayers.  Through that trust that the Lord always loves us and will only give us good and perfect gifts, we can accept the answers to our prayers.