Have you ever felt like prayer is a waste of time?
If you find yourself in a seemingly difficult situation, prayer becomes a seeming cliche response from others. You may think it has value. It could help you with a new perspective. In the moment of your uncertainty or even doubt, we want resolution. Prayer at times offers a circuitous answer.
This morning, I encountered Job 9:16 in the Pray as You Go App. Listen to what Job says:
Even if I summoned him and he responded,
I do not believe he would give me a hearing.
The writers of Scripture have a better understanding of the human condition than we do. Job loses virtually everything. These words come from a desperate place — grief, doubt, despair, and depression.
Essentially, Job says what many of us feel in Job 9:16, “Would God even listen to me?”
You may find yourself in a Job-like season. Perhaps, the Bible has less to tell you about what to do. You begin to see people like Job, Hannah, David, Asaph, Thomas, and others who openly question God. They ask about His whereabouts and wonder if He will come through.
We will begin to find that Jesus felt the same way. He would find himself in the midst of doubt and uncertainty on the way to the His excruciating death on the cross. What we begin to see is that our Savior relates to us in ways that we can never imagine. No quick answers or radical resolutions, but the empathy and presence of Someone who knows the season of despair.
Ultimately, Job 9:16 points us to Jesus. He would one day have the same doubts and questions (Read more about Jesus’ prayer at this link). The Gospel directs us to Savior secure enough to take our deepest doubts and not afraid of our inquisitions.
Today, like Job, you may find yourself asking, “Would God even listen?” I pray the people around you would provide you space to process. I hope you begin to see yourself in the good company of the writers of Scripture, who dared to reveal their doubts. Ultimately, I hope you encounter Jesus and the Gospel. Not because He provides a resolution, but because He understands you far more than you can realize.
Photo by Joshua Hanks