Why Didn’t God Answer My Prayer?
Why Didn’t God Answer My Prayer?
This blog is a very personal one for me. I am Cass Garrett, widow to the most recent pastor of DaySpring Community Church, the Reverend John D. Garrett who went on to sleep in the arms of Jesus this past January. Suffice it to say that, yes, he did contract COVID and that was listed as the primary cause of death, but I know that such things do not shorten our lives by so much as one step. God has our path planned from before the beginning of time and no disease or sudden tragedy has the power to overcome His plans.
Along with so many across the globe, I prayed for God to heal John’s body. I prayed for God to please let him remain here with us. My reasoning, of course, was selfish. I really didn’t want the numerous people who relied on him for spiritual guidance, Godly wisdom, and Christian fellowship to be without Brother John. I really, really didn’t want my children and future grandchildren to live in a world without the Daddyman. And I really, really, REALLY didn’t know how I was going to live the rest of my life without my beloved other half of 35 years.
So, I prayed. I called out. I begged and I bargained. I remained hopeful and positive that God would move suddenly and do what I asked Him to do because, after all, John was His devoted servant and we needed him to be here with us. Surely God would hear my compelling arguments, acknowledge the obvious and just heal him!
The day I was able to finally be cleared of COVID myself and visit, I was sure that the doctor wanted to see me to talk about future treatment options. I had no idea that they had worked all night long to keep his blood pressure up and his heart going so I could see him one last time. As I held his hand and told him it was okay to go be with Jesus and not worry for me as I was right behind him, his heart stopped beating.
Why didn’t God heal John? Why didn’t He answer my prayer? Doesn’t the scripture say that we can ask anything in the name of Jesus? “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13. Well, yes it does, but taking just that one scripture out of the context of the entire Bible basically describes God as our own personal genie to wave His arms and grant our wishes with no regard for the overall effect it has on the rest of creation. If you understand the concept of prayer, then you know that when we pray, we are in a state of grace, filled with the Holy Spirit and in the presence of God. All selfish desire fades and we want only God’s will and we ask only for things that are part of His will. And God’s will is for all His creation to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and reconciliation with the Father through the Son. That’s why Jesus taught his apostles in the Lord’s Prayer “Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
I will always believe that John’s passing was entirely necessary for someone, somewhere (or somewhen) to come to know Jesus – therefore totally in God’s will.
Imagine each second of time here on Earth as a giant tapestry made up of individual threads woven together. The life of every individual created in this existence past, present and future is a thread that runs through that piece of cloth. The condition of your thread is affected by the choices, in free will, that you make AND those everyone else made, makes, or will make. Unfortunately, we have the power to affect the overall picture without the knowledge of the consequences. God is the only one capable of seeing the entire structure and how each individual choice affects the whole from one second to the next. Just trying to look at the tapestry of one second in time boggles the mind. There is only one thing that describes the ability to examine such a thing for each and every second of time that has been and will be. The mind of God.
I left the ICU that day sure of one rock solid thing. God did answer my prayer. The answer was no. It was necessary in the tapestry of earthly life for John to die that morning so that another person destined for a life without the Lord would come to know the saving grace of Jesus. Somewhere in this tangle of threads is someone who will reap the greatest benefit a person can ever own because John left me here to carry on without him. I will be glad to see that person’s face on the other side when I go to see Jesus too.
The scripture says in John 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” and John Garrett was a man of great love for his fellows. No one (on Earth) knew him better than me and I confidently say that John considered serving the Lord and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ the greatest thing he could have ever done. But I say laying down his life for another was even greater and I will hold on to that little piece of comfort for the rest of my life: that John is with Jesus and he died so that God’s plans can be accomplished in someone else’s life.
Thank you to all of you who have reached out with prayer, condolence, and kindness to my family. I now call out for you to step into the gap where so many have gone on to be with the Lord this past year. The battle is the Lord’s, but we are His soldiers here and there are so many who need to hear the Word. DaySpring will endure. Luke 78-79 NKJV is where we decided on the name – “Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” It is up to us to continue to tell everyone about the light and the way of peace. God be with you.
In His Service - Cass
