6 If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. 8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
“Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged—take it to the Lord in prayer! Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness—take it to the Lord in prayer!”
What’s wrong with Joseph Scriven?
Normal people who have been through what he went through don’t write like that.
I mean, if I lost one wife, I might be kind of angry at God… but two?
He couldn’t catch a break.
And after all of that, he’s still talking about taking it to the Lord in prayer.
Oh, don’t look at me like that.
No one in this world who has heard me preach before expects me to behave.
In fact, I have a text from Maron in my phone that says—and I quote:
"When have we ever asked you to behave?"
What’s wrong with this dude?
How do you write like that?
How do you turn to God when it seems like your prayers haven’t been answered?
How do you keep praying?
How do you call Jesus a friend when He hasn’t done what you asked Him to do?
What is wrong with this man?
He couldn’t catch a break.
But what’s even crazier is—he’s not alone.
There are other "crazy" people just like him.
Let me tell you about Horatio Spafford:
He invested in real estate in the spring of 1871.
Lost most of it in the Chicago Fire that October.
Two years later, his wife takes their four daughters on a vacation to England.
The ship wrecks. All four daughters die.
He couldn’t catch a break.
He rushes to England, and as he’s floating over the place where the shipwreck happened…
He writes:
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll—
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say:
It is well, it is well with my soul.
HOW?!
How can you have that kind of relationship with God in the middle of tragedy?
In our text, Paul is praying for healing.
And God says no.
God is not going to heal Paul, no matter how many times he prays.
So why is Paul still praying?
None of these three could catch a break.
And I know what you’re thinking:
"Now Milton—we know that you know that we know that you don’t come into this pulpit without watching the other sermons in this series."
So yes, I already know that Maron said it last week:
“Prayers are not tools for doing or getting, but for being and becoming.”
You're right. And we’ll get there.
But right now—I need to talk to the folks who are tired.
Some of you rolled your eyes when you heard we were doing a series on prayer.
Some of you are tired of praying.
Some of you are running out of time.
Some of you have been asking God for too long.
Some of you haven’t prayed in weeks.
And some of you… don’t trust God anymore.
Because when you lose someone, or when you’re fighting for your life, logic isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.
Let me tell you what Tyler Staton said in Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools:
“I’m not too interested in the beginning or even the end of the story when it comes to prayer. What I’m interested in is the middle. The middle is where the mystery lies. The middle is where all our questions about prayer are littered.” (p. 3)
He says: I need to know what to do in the middle.
I want to preach from the subject:
How Do I Pray When I Can’t Catch a Break?
I need to know what was wrong with Joseph Scriven, because I want to make sure it’s wrong with me too.
I want whatever he had.
Because the thing I love about him is—he didn’t let what was happening to him affect his relationship with God.
We live in a society where people leave the church if someone bumps into them.
And the enemy is doing everything he can to separate us from God.
So what made these two writers so different—so unshakeable?
I believe the answer is in the text.
2 Corinthians 12:8–9 (NLT)
8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
Look at what’s happening here:
Paul is talking to God—not at God.
Paul asked a question, and God gave him an answer.
Prayer is a conversation, not a wish list.
Paul’s not writing a letter to Santa Claus.
We’ve got God twisted:
We say God is sovereign, then get mad when He doesn’t answer our prayers our way.
We say God is omnipresent, but when things go wrong, we ask, “Where were you?”
Some of us believe more in God's ability to follow our instructions than in His sovereignty.
When was the last time you had a conversation with God?
Something happened when Paul listened.
God gave Paul a glimpse of His character.
God said: “I am enough.”
“I’m going to show you my glory through your weakness.”
“I’m still working for your good.”
God’s not ignoring you.
God hasn’t left you.
But God’s ways are not your ways—and His plan is better.
When we pray and listen, we begin to understand God’s character.
We pray to understand God's character.
Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)
6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
That’s how Horatio Spafford could float over the place his daughters died and still say,
"It is well with my soul."
That’s what was "wrong" with them:
They had spent enough time with God.
Now Psalm 34:1 finally makes sense:
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
That doesn’t mean everything goes our way.
But we’re okay, because we know God’s character.
We pray to become like Jesus.
When you spend enough time with someone—you start to act like them.
Married couples know what I’m talking about.
The more time I spend with God, the more I look like Jesus.
But ultimately—we pray to be with Jesus.
Didn’t Barry preach this two weeks ago?
That everything else is skubalon—waste, garbage.
Philippians 3:10 (NLT)
“I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death.”
Wait a minute—sharing?
That means He’s with me.
I’m not alone.
We pray to be with Jesus.
His very name means God with us.
Even Jesus heard “no” from God.
Matthew 26:39 (NLT)
“My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Jesus gets it.
He asked, “Is there another way?”
God said no.
And Jesus said, “Thy will be done.”
Father, I trust your character.
That’s why He said, “Into Your hands I commit my spirit.”
Hebrews 4:15–16 (NLT)
15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.
16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Aren’t you glad He gets it?
In the times we live in, we need to learn how to pray.
God is calling for a response.
But before we respond—we need to talk to God.
So we can hear from God.
So we can be like Jesus.
And experience the presence of God.
“Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged—take it to the Lord in prayer! Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness—take it to the Lord in prayer!”
God bless you.