If You Can....

A few weeks ago, my mom, nonna (grandma) and I were praying to God for healing in my nonna's legs. She has been a diabetic for a over two decades, and it has become more apparent in the past few years that her nerve endings are damanged, as they are responding the way they other diabetics have said that they would. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is what they call it, but I won't be going into detail on how it all works because all I know is that nonna has been experiencing a great deal of pain in her legs and feet because of it.

So there we were, praying. We've been praying, and waiting, and believing, for years. But in this particular moment of prayer my mom said something like "Lord, if you can heal her... wait, we know you can, but we ask if you will, please heal her..." Mom corrected one verb in her prayer and shifted the entire request in a different direction. When she finished praying, I looked at her and said, "I'm glad you changed the 'can' to 'will' because God really can do anything".

The words 'can' and 'will' are both verbs. According to Google their meanings are as follows:

Can; be able to, be permitted to.

Will; expressing the future tense; expressing inevitable events.

While God "can" do anything, it is by His "will" that He does what is pleasing to Him. When we ask if He will do something, it is with faith, hope and expectation that a future outcome will occur. Although... I believe we limit God by our limited faith; I know this statement can be controversial since I previously stated my belief that God can do anything. Faith is a sure requirement when receiving what we've asked for in prayer:

And whatever you ask for in prayer, 

you will receive, if you have faith,

Matthew 21:22

Therefore I tell you, 

whatever you ask in prayer, 

believe that you have received it, 

and it will be yours.

Mark 11:24

Jesus even says in Mark 9:23b that, “Anything is possible if a person believes”.

Here's the story, Mark 9:14-29 NLT paraphrased by yours truly:

So there was a father who's son was possessed by an evil spirit that wouldn't let him talk. The son would experience violent convulsions, where he would foam at the mouth, grind his teeth and become rigid. "So I [the father] asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it" (verse 18). Jesus was not impressed, He immediately called for the boy to be brought to Him. When the boy came near to Jesus he experienced yet another violent convulsion...
Verses 21- 24: “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”Jesus then rebuked the evil spirit and he experienced a third convulsion, but after the spirit left him. The boy appeared to be dead, but Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and the boy stood up. Later on, "when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?” Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer [and fasting].”"

This passage of scripture is a little more graphic than what nonna is experiencing in her legs. It may have been years, but our asking God to heal my nonna has not stopped because God didn't answer the way we were expecting. After all, He is God, He can do whatever He wants. And we as His children need to trust that He knows what He's doing even when it doesn't make sense to us.

Chorus from the song "Anyway" by Martina McBride:

God is great, but sometimes life ain't good

When I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should

But I do it anyway

I do it anyway

So let us continue in prayer; asking God to heal us and meet us where we're at. But just because we're experiencing problems, doesn't mean we can't still experience God's peace which is found in His presence. Invite Him into your everyday; ask Him to be part the simplest tasks, the moments of confusion and uncertainty, the routine of our seemingly mundane days... You'll be surprised how quickly He'll show up when you welcome Him to.