Beg God by Robin Densmore Fuson

 

When did you last beg God? Is it okay to beg God?

Merriam-Webster: Beg: to ask earnestly for: Entreat

Three times. Three times, I asked the Lord if I could do something I thought benefited my family. The Lord said ‘no’ each time.

The apostle Paul asked the Lord three times to remove the thorn in the flesh. The Lord said no. Paul understood that God used the thorn in his life. He says in 2 Corinthians, 12:7b, So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and to keep me from becoming proud.

Paul found out the reason for the no answer from God. Some of us never understand or fully know why God said no.

In the Garden before being arrested, falsely accused, abused, tormented, and beaten, Jesus Christ prayed for deliverance. He told his disciples, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.” (Matthew 26: 38) He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. (Luke 22:44)

If the Lord Jesus Christ can, in a sense, beg the Father for deliverance, to be spared the cruelest death, don’t you think we also can plead to the Father for deliverance? Deliverance from fear, sickness, pain, death of a loved one, financial woes, relationship issues, loneliness, loss, heartache, and devastation or any other problem?

I believe the answer is yes.

Keep knocking on heaven’s door. Go to the throne and grapple with the Lord. Ask until you get an answer. In Luke 18: 1-4 Jesus tells his disciples to always pray and never give up. He told a parable about a widow who kept bugging the judge to fix a problem. He finally answered him because of her persistence.

When the answer finally comes, we need to accept it even if it isn’t what we desire. God knows best. He knows our future and he cares deeply for us and gives what is ultimately best for us.

I got my answer. I asked three times and got the same answer each time. Paul asked multiple times. The Lord asked twice and each time He said, “Your will be done.” (Luke 22:42, Matthew 26:39,42, Mark 14:36)

Paul’s answer was to keep him from being proud. Jesus Christ’s answer for Him to die, meant the Salvation of the world. The answer no doesn’t mean a bad thing. The answer no saved sinners from hell.

There is always a bigger picture—the one we can’t see. God has a plan for us and those we love. There are yes and no answers and wait answers. The reason for the answer no, we may never know. That’s where faith comes in. Trust God.

Like Paul and the Lord, I accepted the answer. I’ve fallen prostrate on the floor before the Lord. I’ve begged many times over the years. I’ve repeated prayers dozens of times. I’m again pleading on behalf of a loved one who has an aggressive form of cancer. I’m asking for a miracle but I know that we all want God’s will. Praying and giving it to the Lord is difficult. Releasing the problem sometimes feels like opening a sealed can with our fingernails—an impossible task. The grip is too tight. But when we open our hands and give the burden to the Lord, a tremendous peace comes.

That peace came over our Lord. Peace came over Paul and peace comes over all of us who surrender to the Lord for His will to be done. The peace is the Holy Spirit flooding our soul with His character.

Do you want peace? Surrender to His will.

Don’t be afraid to beg, plead, and keep knocking. The Father hears your prayers.