Hello everyone, I won't go into heavy detail but a few years ago I had to undergo a serious surgery which resulted in loss of mobility in my lower body and i'm slowly regaining that but, everytime I get better I also get worse, from another illness or problem. And for awhile now i've been reading my bible, studying the words and praying to God. I accepted Jesus as my lord and savior but I don't feel any different, and none of my prayers are answered, and i'm not even givin a sign that he heard me. Lately i've been praying to him so he can help me stay strong and not give up on him like I did when I was younger. And still the worst of luck is happening to me and I keep getting sicker and sicker, and when something good happens, it doesn't last long and goes away then replaced by something worse. I try so, so very hard to keep my faith in God alive but its very difficult... I'm growing angry at him and the world pretty much, I am sad alot when I read stories of other peoples luck with God and how he is with them. But my whole life I feel that the only one(s) that were with me durning all the suffering and loss, was my family. Even when I prayed I felt nothing, I tried to put my heart 100% in all my prayers but I feel nothing but sadness afterwards and no change. I'm losing faith in him very quickly and i'm scared that soon instead of preaching his words of love, I will be hating him and saying bad things about him! I don't want to do that... I don't know what to do, i'm hoping that anyone, anyone at all can help me with my dilema. Forgive me if this was too long, I just need help with this issue...

-Dylan

Hello, Dylan. Let me just start by saying that I will be praying for your health and perseverance through the illnesses that are afflicting you. Romans 12:15 says to weep with those who weep, so I am going to spend some time weeping with you.

I am glad to hear that you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You mentioned in your post that none of your prayers were being answered. I would just like to remind you of God's promises:

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

Because you belong to Jesus, you can be certain that when you ask God for something, he will either: 1) Give you what you ask for; or 2) Give you something even better than what you ask for. He will never give you anything less than what you ask for.

The problem with being humans who possess only limited knowledge is that we don't fully see God's plan in what he is doing in and around us. What we do know is that God works everything for his glory and our good. He is faithful to sanctify us through both our prosperity and our deepest pain.

You mentioned that you are sad when you read stories of other people being healed by God. Let me ask you this question: What gives God more glory? When his children praise him because he healed them? Or when his children praise him because of who he is -- God?

Please remember that whatever suffering you and I go through in this short life, it is far less than the suffering you and I actually deserve. We are all sinners who deserve to spend eternity in conscious eternal torment (hell). But because God loves us so much, he sent Jesus to die in our place for our sins, absorbing the wrath and suffering that we incurred through our disobedience. So clearly, God loves you. Otherwise, Jesus wouldn't have substituted himself to suffer and die for you. It really cost him a lot to save you. So I hope you realize that whatever pain you are going through in this brief little life isn't caused by God's lack of love for you.

Oh, and don't forget that Jesus rose from the grave. You and I will also rise from the grave at the resurrection, when Jesus returns. We will be given perfect, glorified bodies . . . for all of eternity.

Dylan, I will pray for your health. But more importantly, I will pray that you don't waste your suffering but instead use your suffering as an opportunity to glorify God.

I hope you find this video inspiring:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTc_FoELt8s

-Raymond