Why doesn't everyone get healed?‏

Dearest Ones,

Why doesn't everyone get healed when they pray? It is so hard to see a loved one suffer. If you're like me, you want to pray and "fix" them right away. The only way I can make sense of someone not being healed when I pray is to look at our Savior, Jesus. God didn't answer the prayer of His own dear Son, when He begged in the garden: "Father, if it be possible, take this chalice from me, but not my will but Thine be done." Why didn't God spare His sinless Son the terrible cross? Although He knew He could call on ten thousand angels to rescue Him, Jesus willingly took hold of the cross and began to carry it because through the cross Jesus knew He would save us and He must do the will of the Father. People could not believe that if He really had supernatural power He would let things come to this: that if He was really a king, he would have established His own kingdom. It didn't make any sense - God allowing His own Son to die, just as our suffering doesn't make any sense to us at times. God didn't allow a miracle to help Jesus. Jesus knew He must not run from the cross now. If He did, how would the rest of us make sense of the crosses we have? Those who are ruled by feelings might say, "How can you go to church because you must and not because you feel like it? How can you believe what you are told to believe and not what you feel to be true?" For them as well as for Himself, Jesus' prayer was uttered for ever: "Father, not my will but thine be done." If someone isn't healed when we pray, this doesn't mean to stop praying - it means to pray all the more. If we are not healed, it's not because God wants to see us suffer or because we didn't pray right or because God doesn't love us. It is not a punishment either. Most people are not healed. After all, all people die, so they can't all be healed! The good life does not mean we will be free from suffering. There will still be money problems, sickness, loss of jobs, misunderstanding and much more. This life is not always an easy one, as our Blessed Lord and the saints have taught us. Suffering is not the greatest of evils, but a normal part of life. It is to be accepted as a full human existence. If the Lord should call me to a period of illness, I know well that his power can be made perfect in weakness, that He suffers in and with me - we never suffer alone. Suffering is redemptive. Jesus showed through his suffering that we can be saved. Our suffering, if offered to God, can be the means of others finding their way to heaven. If we offer our suffering to God to be used to help others get to heaven, we are actually helping God to save this world. It seems strange that He needs us, but it is true. If God trusts us with suffering, it is because He knows we can bear it. Suffering is a great teacher. We learn to rely more on God, to pray and trust more - I pray more when faced with a hopeless situation. We learn patience and most of all, we learn who is really in charge of our life. If suffering brings us closer to God, then it is a gift. Some see suffering as the result of personal sin and that God wants only "health and wealth" for His children. They think if only one believes they will be healed and they will be "wealthy and healthy." We know from the Bible, Job, a man very holy and dear to God, lost his wealth, his health, his family and friends, and yet, remained faith-filled and never blamed God for his misfortune. One of his greatest trials was not the suffering God allowed, but it was the so-called "friends" who came and visited him. They told him that the reason God sent this suffering was because he must be a great sinner. Job said "No, he didn't sin!" He told them he always gave to the poor, he got up early and prayed for his children for one hour every morning so they would always love and obey God. He treated his hired hands with great fairness and respect. The story of Job shows that when we suffer, we need to be careful who we listen to - friends can sometimes get us all mixed up with well-meaning advice. God allowed the devil to test Job to see if he would still love and obey Him, even when he lost everything. Job passed the test and kept right on praising God, even when he was covered with sores and his life was full of trials. I believe the secret of accepting suffering lies in the fact that we can keep on trusting and praying, even when all seems lost. Above all else, when I pray for someone who is suffering, I pray they will accept it. The saints welcomed suffering, as they wished to be like Jesus. If you have time, read the Book of Job, it is well worth your time - it's one of my favorite books. If you want to help someone who is suffering, pray that they will surrender and unite their sufferings to those of Christ.

All my love and prayers,
Sister Francelle