The Remedy of Prayer

Joseph M. Scriven, in 1855, wrote the old hymn What a Friend We have in Jesus, and in the first stanza of this hymn, he writes:

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear;

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer.

This has proved true for many followers of Jesus. In the busy, hustle and bustle of the Western world, we often find answers to our pain and burdens before we ever carry anything to Jesus. With an abundance of food for us to run in need of comfort; to prescription drugs that we can get just as easy as over the counter drugs to escape the pain; to being able to buy anything we want to make us feel better for the day; to doctors, shrinks and affairs...we have countless options for us to chose before we even think of running to Jesus. Often times we run to God in prayer after we’ve exhausted all of our resources. How foolish we can be sometimes.

This reminds me of “a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.” (Mark 5:25-26) Twelve years of pain, suffering, embarrassment, and social rejection she had endured. It says she spent all she had and exhausted all of her resources and is now destitute. Twelve years of any and everything but running to God in prayer. What might her life had been like if she had ran to God in faith, knowing that He alone has the remedy for her, and that if it was His will then she could be well without suffering needless pain, worry and anxiety.

I do have to say before I carry on with the thought that I want to continue in, that God often uses our suffering to produce in us things that we could never have experienced had we not walked through the pain and suffering. This is not the point I am after, just a clarification of the character of God. What I am after is the needless pain and burdens that we carry because of our “practical atheism” as Christians. 

“Practical atheism” is this: You live in recognition that there is a God, yet see no connection between that belief and how you go about your daily affairs. You never consider or factor God into your key decisions, you don’t run to Him in prayer because you have developed a fatalistic mentality in the midst of your suffering, therefore you do not pattern your life after His values. Consequently, you believe in God but you behave as if He doesn’t exist. This is Practical Atheism. It’s a dichotomy, a split between what we say and what we do. Practical Atheism explains the chasm between what many people say they believe and how they live out their lives. Thus, we often bear needless pain and forfeit divine peace.

Yet in all this neglect of God, He is still faithful when we run to Him in prayer. When this woman heard that Jesus was in town, she ran up behind him, still feeling shameful and insecure and thought, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” (Mark 5:28) Well she did, and you know the end of this great story. God made her well. To be more exact, Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”  Daughter? Faith? Peace? Healed? Wait a minute. This woman neglected to run to God for twelve years and the minute she turned to Him she is made well because of her faith? Yes! And Jesus called her a daughter! If God in the flesh calls you daughter, that means you are radically accepted by the mighty, holy, glorious and beautiful God we read of in the Old Testament, and you share in all that He owns...which is EVERYTHING!

This is a radical new way of living life and approaching Jesus. Maybe you have been running from God and you are a Christian and you are not sure how HE feels about you or how He’ll receive you if you run to Him and grab a hold of His garments in faith. Well, Scriptures are God’s perfect revelation to us to teach us of Him and His goodness. This passage, among many others, shows us the character of God and the radically accepted we are by God, through His son Jesus. Run to Him, you can trust Him and He may heal you by physical or spiritual healing, or He may heal you through walking with you through suffering that He has laid before you. Either way, He is a good God who you can trust with every aspect of life. Stop living as if you are an atheist in practice and run to God in prayer.

On the other hand, maybe you have never trusted in Jesus, ever. Maybe you have a view of Him that is not the way that He actually is. Jesus came to save sinners. He has paid the price that you and I should’ve paid because of our rebellion and sin. Jesus lived the life we couldn’t live and died the death we should’ve died so that we can be radically accepted by God based on His record and because of His sake, not ours. You too can run to Jesus in prayer and trust in Him as the only hope you have to be right with God. You can trust God and be sure that you’ll be accepted by Him because it is not your record that He takes into account when you submit yourself to Him. He accepts you because Jesus is your advocate and has given to you His righteousness. 

Run to God in prayer as your remedy today. Whether you have walked with Jesus for years, or have never known HIm at all, run to Him in faith and touch His garments and know that He alone is the remedy for your life and soul. He alone can satisfy you and He alone should be our comfort. When your satisfaction and comfort are God Himself, then we can be sure we won’t forfeit divine peace and carry needless burdens anymore. 

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear;

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer.