Talk To God When Suffering

Several years ago a disc in my back herniated, causing sudden compression on a couple of nerves, resulting in intense, debilitating pain.  I had often had back issues, but this was really painful.  I hurt from my lower back all the way down my leg and into my big toe!  A couple doctor visits later, I was told by a physician that he could perform a procedure that would take care of the pain. It was a minimally invasive surgery and the doctor assured me he had performed the procedure hundreds of times.  It sounded good to me and I knew I couldn’t continue taking pain medication so I allowed him to schedule the procedure.  

Before the day came, however, I was beginning to have second thoughts.  After all, who really wants to have someone cut on him if he can avoid it?  More importantly, I had not really prayed about healing and began thinking that it was foolish for me to go through with a surgical procedure without first praying, asking God to heal me. 

To make a long story short, I cancelled the operation and asked God to heal me of the back pain.  Admittedly, I am not the sort of person who routinely asks for healing, and am naturally skeptical of sensational “healing stories.”  But I really believed God was testing me in an effort to strengthen my faith. 

A couple days later I shared with my pastoral staff what was going on and asked them if they would do as James teaches in this text.  They agreed and gathered around me and laid hands on me.  We prayed together, asking God to heal my back. 

That was seven years ago and I have not had any recurring issues.  Occasionally I feel a little tingling in my big toe—it doesn’t hurt, but I’ll notice it every once in a while.  When I do, I take it as a gentle reminder that it was God who healed me of my back pain.   

I really believe God worked this way to get me to talk to Him.  As I have said, it is not as though this sort of thing happens to me all the time—it doesn’t.  I don’t have a lot of “moving testimonies” about the power of God’s healing in my life.  I just believe that in this case God was testing me to strengthen my faith, drawing me to Himself so that I would talk to Him, asking Him for healing. 

It is often said that prayer is simply taking to God.  We simply go to Him, taking our burdens to Him, asking for His help.  It’s like the hymn:

What a privilege to carry 
Everything to God in prayer! 

Have we trials and temptations? 
Is there trouble anywhere? 

Are we weak and heavy-laden, 
Cumbered with a load of care? 
Precious Savior, still our refuge— 
Take it to the Lord in prayer. 

(“What A Friend We Have In Jesus,” Joseph M. Scriven, public domain) 

Here’s how James puts it in our text for today and tomorrow; James 5:13-15:

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 

In this passage, James provides three specific circumstances where Christians are to pray; to talk to God.  Today we’ll just consider the first one as it is immediately applicable to our contemporary situation.

Talk to God when Suffering 

James opens the passage this way: “Is anyone among you suffering?  Let him pray.”  That’s pretty simple and straightforward.  If you are suffering, pray!  Talk to God. 

It makes sense to go to God because He is the One who made us and knows us.  If you own a Mac computer and your computer breaks down, you don’t talk to the Windows guy, you talk to the Apple guy because Apple is the one who made it and knows it. 

So where do you go when you “break down?”  Go to the One who made you and knows you.  Talk to God.  

Heres an important qualifier: James does not say that you are guaranteed to stop suffering when you go to God.  He does not teach that.  Suffering through trials is often a good thing for Christians because it helps us grow.  You’ll recall that truth from the opening verses of the letter:  

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience (or endurance).  But let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4).  

Suffering is a means God often uses in the Christian’s life to make the Christian more like Jesus.  God may work through our suffering to remove unhelpful impurities in our lives; worldliness, for example. 

Talk to God when suffering.  As someone taught me years ago: When you suffer try not to ask God, “Why?”  but rather ask Him, “What?”  As in, “What are you teaching me, God?  What are you trying to show me through my suffering?  What lessons would you like me to learn?  What are you doing right now to make me more like Jesus?” 

Talk to God.