g people, and when we pray in our own suffering, we pray with that Sufferer of Gethsemane who prayed "not my will but your will be done." We pray recognizing that God's will is always a good and gracious will to save (see 1 Tim. 2:4), even when it seems otherwise. We pray knowing that his grace is sufficient for us in our suffering and that his power is perfected in weakness (see 2 Cor. 12:8-9). Prayer motivated by a theology of glory seeks life that avoids suffering and death. The prayer of the cross seeks life in the midst of suffering and death and finds in Jesus the only way through death to eternal life.
Does this mean that we simply accept our fate then and eschew the use of doctors and medicines and "leave everything in God's hands"? Of course not! This, too, would be a theology of glory. How can we know that it is God's will that we make no use of his gifts of medicine? Why suggest that God's hands have nothing whatsoever to do with the doctor's hands? This would be claiming to know with certainty the hidden will of God concerning the disposition of our suffering. The petition "Thy will be done" means that we actively pursue God's will, employing whatever means he has placed at our disposal-his Word, baptism and Supper, prayer and confession, medicine and the surgeon's knife-yet recognizing that whether we live or die, our life is safely hidden with Christ in God, and we are always safe in him. Only through the cross of Jesus are we given to see suffering and death as good news, because only in the death and resurrection of Jesus does suffering and death find its fulfillment and ultimate meaning.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Look to Jesus on the cross, and ask the question again. Behold the Lamb! He is God's great nonanswer to the problem of suffering and evil. Where is God? Right there, in the midst of it all. Why does God let this happen? It is for you and for your salvation.
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Issue: "This is My Father's World" Sept./Oct. 2002 Vol. 11 No. 5 Page number(s): 22-31
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