If, then….

Often our prayers to our Father are conditional, whether spoken or not, the desire to make a deal with God is in our heart. Promises are made to God most fervently, as we seek His help. ‘God if you will do this, then I promise to do that.’
Suppose a young man has been seriously ill for four years. Before he fell ill, he loved backpacking in the mountains and long runs on a cool, crisp Autumn morning. Then suddenly, everything dramatically changed. He became so ill that he found himself without strength to do even the simplest things and having to spend much of his day resting in bed. Hope and despair became alternate emotions for him daily. Brief periods of sitting at his window and watching little birds at a feeder were always followed by longer periods of rest in bed. He prays to God and at times feels as though God ignores him.
As he prays and ponders his situation, the Lord tenderly shows him that his normal prayers are ‘unreal’.  For the first time he begins to realize that there has always been a ‘big condition’ hidden beneath the surface of his prayers. He sees clearly that the only purpose for his prayers, even when he didn’t even mention his healing, was for health. Subconsciously he prayed ‘if you make me better, Lord…’ ‘If I can have my health again…’ ‘If I can be normal as other men…’   The Lord graciously helped him to see his flawed praying, which resulted in humble repentance before his merciful Father. He prayed: ‘ Lord I have always come to You with “ifs,” now I come to You with no “ifs” at all.’   He does not ‘suffer’ his illness now; he’ uses’ it.  And God is marvelously using him as a powerful testimony of the all sufficient grace of God.