This past week we gathered our two teams and prayed over Dr. Rochunga, the founder of the Partnership Mission Society. We prayed prior to his surgery and then again when things took a turn for the worse. Praying is not my one of my strengths but it is a discipline I have been working on over the course of the last four months.
However, as we bowed our heads to pray in the hallway of the school for a man on the other side of the world I started to wonder, why do we pray? The Bible says that God has a plan and that he already knows what is going to happen. That his ways are not our own. And that his ways are better than our ways (Isaiah 55:8). If these are truths, then why bother praying? I asked God, “What are my prayers in comparison to your will?” In Matthew 6:8 it even says, “ For the father knows what you need before you ask him.” I asked God, “If you already know what is going to happen, why do we bother asking?”
I was immediately reminded of a story in Mark chapter 5, where Jesus heals the woman who has been “subject to bleeding for twelve years.” In the story the woman is healed when she touches Jesus’ cloak (Mark 5:29). She believed that if she could just touch Jesus’ clothes she would be healed. She stepped out in that faith and acted on it, and in doing so she demonstrated immense faith in Jesus’ power to heal. She allowed God to show up and show off.
When we pray, we are inviting God into that space. It is an act of humility. In doing so we are admitting that we have no power or control in the situation. We are giving it over to God. We are inviting him into our situations and allowing him the opportunity to display his power. In the end, we are saying, “Whatever happens we give you the glory.”
But with that we must be willing to accept that the outcome might not be what we would want to happen; trusting that it is his will and that ultimately he will be glorified. As I prayed, I had to come to terms with the fact that in this situation when I prayed for healing, what I imagined and what God sees were very different. When we pray for healing, we often imagine the person getting better, walking out of the hospital healed. But our thoughts are not his thoughts (Isaiah 5:8). For God, healing could mean death. It could mean that they get to leave this earth and enter the kingdom of heaven free of all earthly troubles. This was the truth in that situation. Ultimately, Dr. Rochunga went to be with God.
In that, we have to be willing to trust that God’s plan is still good. That even in Dr. Rochunga’s death, God will be glorified. As we’ve watched the community of people mourn the loss of an incredible man this has been so evident. No one gave a testimony of his life without mentioning the work he did for the Lord. He gave his life to serve God. In the story of his life, God is ultimately glorified.
