Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Viewing God’s response to prayers as privilege and not entitlements

Part of my frustration with my chronic tension headache condition comes from the thought that God seems to be ignoring my prayers for healing. I wonder why God would not answer my prayers in the most direct and apparent way by healing me completely of my tension headache if he is indeed real, and hears my prayers. There are times when I feel so frustrated over this thought that I resolve to myself that the answer is God does not exists. But then, given some time, I would relent on that position, and attempt to find answers to give God the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps God is doing something to help me. He might be using gradual means rather than instantaneous ones. Or as the Christian trope would go, God’s will abides by his time. There might be some wisdom to such a saying. Moreover, when I consider that the alternative is one of disbelief in God, which does nothing to help me with my tension headache problem, I find myself perceiving God’s help in a different way – that it is a privilege more than it is an entitlement. If under the normal scheme of things, should things proceed according to nature without any intervention by God, that there be no healing, then healing on the part of God should be perceived as a favor to divert away from such an undesirable outcome, and the lack of such favor granted should invite no more disgruntlement than if God were not to exist and our problems persists in the natural course of things.

I wonder if this thought makes sense. Perhaps another way to explain my thought here is that often times, it is easy to get disappointed with God over the perceived lack of answer to one’s own prayers, when such disappointment is not warranted since God is not duty-bound to answer such prayers in the first place. On second thought, I think it is quite harsh that disappointment should be seen in such a negative light. Perhaps, it is understandable if one gets disappointed, but we shouldn’t go to the extent of being disgruntled with God because that shows that we are mistaking any positive response on God’s part as an entitlement rather than simply a privilege to ourselves. I wonder whether the same can be said of the ancient Israelites who grumbled against God in the desert because they wanted something which God was not duty-bound to give them. If they had merely expressed disappointment, God might not have been so angry at them.


I suppose I am guilty of such disgruntlement. More than that, I have probably expressed anger at God. I still want my healing, and I would hope that God would not make it so hard for me to get it, but I suppose I could very well have a certain greater depth of perspective regarding unanswered prayers, rather than instinctively becoming unhappy and getting angry at God. I would imagine a more emulable biblical character responding in a more dispassionate manner to unanswered prayers with “Well…if it isn’t the Lord’s will, then it is just as well, and so be it”, and I guess I could try to adopt the same attitude.

11 comments:

unclejoey said...

Hey I may be able to help on your headache.

unclejoey said...

I might be able to help if you let me.

Samuel Tee said...

Hi there. What solution do you have?

unclejoey said...

Did u hv scans done?

Samuel Tee said...

Yes I did. I had an MRI scan. It didn't show up any abnormality.

unclejoey said...

The most important thing is to identify the root cause of your headache, which most of times is due to our years of daily habits like diet etc. The list of your headache causes can be very long, and it's difficult for me to nail it down without a face-to-face consult, or getting to know the nitty-gritty of your daily habits. It took me years to see some light on my own health problem and I don't propose an overnight solution. Lawyers want solutions to their clients' problems, but believe me, God is more concerned about the transformation of our soul than giving us solutions to our problem.

Anyway, if you want some good relief to your headache, a good starting point is TCM or Ondamed.

We can meet up to talk about your problem if you want. Otherwise good luck to you in your search for a cure. Seek and you shall find. My healing process is sometimes painful so don't expect a pain free process.

Unknown said...

Thanks for your suggestions. I gave Ondamed a lookup and it seems like it may be helpful. I have been giving TCM a try. I have been going for gua sha, and it helps somewhat with my tension headahes

unclejoey said...

Oh great. Hope you get better.

unclejoey said...

Hey I haven't had guasha before. Is it good? Is it painful? How was the experience?

Anonymous said...

Hi Samuel, I've been reading your blog because my son has asperger's. Anyway, since you've had mri for your headaches and there's nothing there, may I suggest the following which may or may not help you since it's based on my own experience. I also suffer from headaches and nothing helped until... Firstly, is it possible it's due to the food you eat? For my case, I cut out coffee and tea completely. Next, after keeping a food diary, I noticed that white carbs give me headaches. I completely stopped eating rice and noodles. I ate quinoa, oats instead. Of course I still ate meat and vegetables. For fruits, I ate non acidic fruits. I'm not suggesting that following my example you will get rid of your headaches. You should start to keep a food diary and observe. I'm sure you will start to notice a pattern. Secondly, have you ever had a massage by a trained physiotherapist? Tell them you have tension headaches and ask them for a relevant massage. These massages are magical. They really help. Also is there someone who can massage you at home? When you get headaches and you keep taking pain medication, you will make yourself worse and worse. I don't take any pain medication. Instead, my husband or daughter gives me a short massage and the headaches reduces or goes away. Over time after abstaining from the food which had caused me problems, my headaches went away completely.

All the best,
Jane

Samuel Tee said...

Thanks for your helpful suggestions Jane. I do go for gua sha massage by TCM. Maybe I could give traditional massages a try as well.

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