God is Always Faithful
Many months ago, an inmate who was very involved with Opening Blind Eyes stopped attending worship, Bible study and counseling. He was angry with God for not answering his prayers for his mother’s wellbeing. She suffered from Alzheimer’s. I heard that he stopped attending any Christian events. Through another inmate, I sent a message to him apologizing if I needlessly offended him. He assured me that I did not; this issue was with God.
He finally came back for counseling as an agnostic. He questioned his previous Christian experiences. He challenged me to prove that Christianity was not just another form of denial, thereby proving life was meaningless. I prayed aloud for him at the end of each session and throughout the week.
Over several months, we discussed Biblical history and prophecy at length, including the proof for the resurrection.
Then, we finally got back to his real issue: unanswered prayer. He had to acknowledge that by definition God was greater than we can imagine. Therefore, God’s ways are not our ways. I also pointed out that God did not answer Jesus’ prayer that he might be spared from crucifixion in the garden of Gethsemane. If God is did not answer Jesus’ prayer the way that he wanted, why should we imagine that God will answer all our prayers the way we want? Jesus provided our role model by declaring “not my will by your will be done.”
The Holy Spirit worked in his heart so that he finally repented and trusted in Jesus. He has returned to worship services, Bible study and individual counseling. God also answered his prayers for his mother better than he could have imagined!
I have waited over a year to report this because I wanted to make sure that his faith was sincere. Praise God for his faithfulness and your faithfulness that makes this ministry possible.
Rip