Questioning God & Unanswered Prayers

I’m going to try to keep this short (compared to what I’d like to say anyhoo), because I’d be really interested to see what people say.  I’m a big fan of being able to blog and import into notes on Facebook, so, I hope to maybe stir up a group convo.  And really I’ve got more questions on this subject than I do answers.  Plus, it’s about 2 am.  I can’t help but want to blog at these hours.  I just got in from a really good night where a bunch of us met in a house to express our worship and to have a beautiful chat with one another about what we were going through and it was one of the more raw, honest, and transparent nights I have participated in.  Some people, such as myself, expressed their time with God lately has been more  like being in a ring with Hulk Hogan than a date with Jessica Beil (if ladies get to have the typical Brad crush that is irrevocably my choice).  I was brewing some of these thoughts during a 1 am phone call the other night with a best-bud of mine, so…

Here goes: is it okay to question God on things?  Choose your answer wisely.  Even if you go by the book on this, Jesus questioned God, and, questioned whether or not he would follow through with that whole extreme torturous death thingy he had to do (can’t say I blame him).  I would even say that almost 50% of the psalms are questions, not answers.  Read ‘em and weep.  I’m just saying if you do answer this, please don’t be textbook and say neither of two extremes: A (I imagine this in a high pitch voice for some reason) “No, no, I would never, ever question God.  I just love Jesus way too much.  He’s so good.”  B. “YES!  I question Him!  Life is miserable!  The sky is falling, it’s falling!  The economy is crashing!  Life is horrible!” I guess what I’m saying is take maybe 10 seconds and then answer.  Think about your roughest days ever…your mistakes…etc…think about 911, the Holocaust, & the 3rd world today…but also think about ice cream, bacon, and yes, Jessica Beil.

OK, my other question / comment is why do so many prayers go unanswered?  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then let me poke a little again.  So, if you’re a charismatic / pentecostal person, have you ever been with someone who has said, “Oh God, let us see your face”??  Did they see it?  Just a question.  Have you been in a group of people where a long prayer for the sick was prayed…where prayer for someone in a wheelchair did not rise and walk…where a tumor remained…Maybe the other way to ask that is have you ever actually seen physical healing take place immediately or relatively soon?  I already here the textbook response: “well, you just need to have faith.”  My sub-question then, is faith blind to reality and simply a spiritually good outlook on life?  Example:  Peter walking on the water.  Did he have to say to himself, “I’m walking on cement.” Nope.  He was likely pretty sure the bottom of his feet were wet.  So, in order for answers to our prayers to come, do we need to say something very optimistic, like “it’s going to be all right” or “God is about to bless me / you” in order for that thing to come about?

Can we present the world a message based on a book with supernatural things but not have any supernatural  events taking place in or around us?   Is that a contradiction in terms?  Or a bad mis-representation?  Why is power so absent?

If you believed you were supposed to pray that a certain leader got elected president, but another one got elected, was that somebodies fault for not praying enough, or, was that because God did not answer your prayer?  (that’s not for the sake of politics as I’m sure we all want a breather, but, a lot of conservative types were assuming that only one of the two candidates was the will of God, and, their choice was not elected—yet they prayed, but, their prayers did not get the candidate they wanted to be elected.  Why?)

These are, I promise, harmless questions.  I’m not asking this because I doubt God but because I believe that  having a non-religious / relational approach to Him means that I can ask Him stuff like this.  And, if I can ask Him, and He still likes me, I hope I can ask you.

Comments, anyone??????????????

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