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“Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.” – 2 Corinthians 12:8 (NLT)
When suffering strikes our lives our first response is usually to try to eliminate it. It’s quite natural. After all, who among us hasn’t dropped everything when we have obtained a splinter to find the tweezers and pull it out? Paul’s thorn in the flesh was certainly more substantial than a splinter in the finger. His response, though, was the same. He asked the Lord to remove it, not once, but three times.
Reading this verse reminds me of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus asked the Father to remove the imminent suffering of the cross. He passionately asked the Father for the “cup to pass.”
Sometimes a person will ask me how they should pray when suffering invades their lives. I think it’s ok to ask God to remove it. Paul and Jesus certainly weren’t afraid to pray that direction. At the same time, we need to remember that ultimately it’s about God’s will, not ours. Nevertheless, it’s ok to ask.
When suffering strikes our lives our first response is usually to try to eliminate it. It’s quite natural. After all, who among us hasn’t dropped everything when we have obtained a splinter to find the tweezers and pull it out? Paul’s thorn in the flesh was certainly more substantial than a splinter in the finger. His response, though, was the same. He asked the Lord to remove it, not once, but three times.
Reading this verse reminds me of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus asked the Father to remove the imminent suffering of the cross. He passionately asked the Father for the “cup to pass.”
Sometimes a person will ask me how they should pray when suffering invades their lives. I think it’s ok to ask God to remove it. Paul and Jesus certainly weren’t afraid to pray that direction. At the same time, we need to remember that ultimately it’s about God’s will, not ours. Nevertheless, it’s ok to ask.
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