Perhaps one of the foremost reasons many people who once vaguely believed in God have chosen to turn away from Him is unanswered prayer, particularly prayer for the healing of themselves or a loved one. Some of them may have been taught some version of the prosperity gospel, that if they just prayed enough or had enough faith then they would be healed, only to later discover that the level or strength of their faith seemingly had no effect whatsoever on their circumstances. Others simply have a difficult time reconciling their belief that God is good, loving, gracious, and merciful with the fact that He seems to refuse to heal one of His own. Whatever the particular reason, unanswered prayer for healing has caused many in this day and age to doubt or completely run away from God.
Yet, unanswered prayer is not a modern concept or issue. Even back in biblical times there were people who pleaded to the Lord for healing, and their prayers were not answered, at least not immediately. You can open up God’s Word and find numerous examples: Job, David, Paul—all righteous, God-fearing men who prayed and only received silence in return.
When this happens, when we pray and plead to God and hear only silence, we wonder why. Why would God allow this to happen? Why wouldn’t God do something about this? We know He is all-powerful, sovereign, in control of everything that happens in the universe. Why does He stay silent when His faithful people, His own children suffer?
Though God may often seem silent, the truth is that He is always at work, even when our prayers go unanswered. He is always working for the good of those who love Him and for His own glory. We can see this clearly in John 11.
“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’” John 11:1, 3-4, ESV
At the beginning of chapter 11, John sets the scene. Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, are friends of Jesus. Lazarus becomes deathly ill, and he must be in such bad condition that his sisters send a message to Jesus, asking Him to come. After all, He was well-known by then for the healings he was performing across Israel. But Jesus chooses to stay put, saying that Lazarus’ illness would not lead to death. In the next couple of verses, we discover that He actually waits two full days until making the trek toward Bethany (v. 6). And the only reason we’re told he waits is that it is for “the glory of God.”
When Jesus announces that He is going to see Lazarus, His disciples are worried. Sick townspeople weren’t the only ones looking for Jesus. The Jewish religious leaders saw Jesus’ miracles and healings as blasphemous acts, a mere man putting Himself in the place of God, and they wanted him dead. The disciples, believing that Lazarus was fine and on the road to recovery, thought Jesus should lay low and stay off the radar of those who wished Him harm (vv. 7-8, 11-12). Instead, Jesus drops a shocking revelation.
“Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died,and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’” John 11:14-15
Jesus knows before He even goes to Bethany that Lazarus had died, and since He’s omniscient, He would have known that Lazarus would die when He first got the sisters’ message. Why then did He say Lazarus’ illness wouldn’t lead to death? Why then did he wait two days to leave? At this point, the only answer Jesus provides is “so that you may believe.”
By the time Jesus arrives in Bethany, we’re told that Lazarus had been in a tomb for four days (v. 17). This is significant because it was common belief that one’s soul remained near their body for three days after death. At the fourth day, any hope that someone might be resuscitated or somehow resurrected was gone.
Martha, one of Lazarus’ grieving sisters, comes out to meet Jesus. She demonstrates belief that God would give Jesus whatever He asked and that if He had been there earlier, Lazarus would not have died (vv. 21-22). Jesus responds that Lazarus will rise again, but Martha assumes that He is referring to the future resurrection at the end of the age (vv. 23-24). But that is not what Jesus is referring to.
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’” John 11:25-26
After Mary, the other sister, comes out to see Jesus, they take Him to the tomb where Lazarus had been laid to rest (vv. 28-29, 34). Surrounded by a group of mourners, Jesus is moved and troubled, and He weeps over the death of His close friend and the suffering of those around Him (vv. 33, 35). Then, He makes a seemingly odd request. He commands that the stone covering the tomb be taken away (v. 39).
Martha questions the ask. After all, the dead body of her brother had been laying inside for four days, no doubt filling the space with a foul odor (v. 39). Yet, Jesus does not relent, reiterating that those who believe would see the glory of God (v. 40). So, the stone is rolled away, and Jesus lifts His eyes to pray to the Father.
“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” John 11:41b-42
After this, Jesus shouts, “Lazarus, come out,” and the man walks out of his own tomb, still wrapped in burial cloth, resurrected and given new life (vv. 43-44).
The biblical text doesn’t tell us the reactions of Martha and Mary, though I’m sure we can assume that their heavy grief was immediately transformed into overwhelming joy. We are told that many Jews who were there to mourn with the sisters came to believe in Jesus after witnessing this miracle (v. 45). And Jesus had made it clear that this was the whole point. It’s why He did not answer Martha and Mary’s message. It’s why He did not leave until two days later. It’s why He did not arrive in Bethany until after Lazarus died. He did this so that people would believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and that God would be glorified.
We may not understand why God doesn’t answer our prayers for healing, why He seems to be silent in the face of our suffering. I’m sure Mary and Martha couldn’t understand why their Friend refused to come earlier and save their brother. But Jesus had a purpose in this: that God would be glorified and that people would believe. And that purpose hasn’t changed. Everything that Jesus does (or doesn’t) do in our lives is to glorify God and to bring people to belief in Him.
Like Lazarus, Jesus may choose to heal us or our loved ones, even when it seems like there’s no hope. But He may choose to not heal us until we gain our glorified bodies in heaven. Though we will all one day die physically, those who believe in Christ will live forever spiritually, free from all pain and sickness and death. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. He was involved in our creation, and He will be the catalyst of our future resurrection. In Him, we have abundant life, eternal life, even if our lives on this earth are cut short. But this kind of life, this kind of hope, this kind of joy can only be found through faith in Christ. May we proclaim like Martha:
“Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” John 11:27
