It’s not unusual for believers to offer up a fervent prayer to the Lord outlining not only what we want from God but also how we want him to deliver our request.  By “faith” we ask for not only the what but the how.  There is a real risk in that type of prayer.The classic example is found in 2 Kings 5.  Naaman was the commander of the army of the King of Aram.  He was a great man and a valiant soldier who was highly esteemed by his king and his fellow soldiers.  However, we are told, he had leprosy.  In the original language, leprosy could refer to a number of health issues and not always the one we think of in which skin begins to rot and eventually takes the victim’s life.  Those with that kind of leprosy were usually quarantined from all those except other lepers. 

However, whatever Naaman suffered, it was concerning and affected his health, his social interactions, and, perhaps, his future.  We are told that Naaman had a servant girl, an Israelite who had been taken in a raid. She confidently told Naaman’s wife that if he would go to the prophet Elisha in Israel, he would be cured. Probably, out of desperation, Naaman gathered a few men and a significant amount of wealth with which to pay for his healing.  

Eventually, he found his way to Elisha the prophet and with his horses and chariots, and probably some fanfare, he stopped in front of Elisha’s door.  Elisha simply sent his servant out to Naaman with the message that if he would go dip in the Jordan River seven times he would be healed.  The text then says, “But Naamanwent away angry and said, ‘I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. ¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?’ So he turned and went off in a rage” (2 Kings 5:11-12).

Naaman’s problem was a combination of pride and a preconceived notion of how he wanted to receive his healing. To a highly regarded general, simply the fact that Elisha himself did not go out to meet Naaman was galling. He undoubtedly felt disrespected and, on top of that, he was instructed to dip in the muddy Jordan of Israel rather than in the crystal-clear mountain streams of Damascus.  In his rage, he determined to leave and, would have also left his healing behind if his servant had not spoken up. His servant quieted Naaman’s rage and talked him into doing what the prophet had instructed.  Clearly, dipping in a muddy river without fanfare or an audience seemed an unlikely way to be cleansed of leprosy, but as he rose from the river the seventh time, his skin became like that of a young boy. 

Naaman came very close to missing the blessing he had longed for because God didn’t provide the blessing in the way Naaman envisioned it happening.   I was a Singles Minister for a number of years and, of course, many of the single women in our group had a great longing to be married. They frequently prayed for God to put a man in their life they could marry and then they attached a number of qualifications for the man…six feet tall, dark hair, nice looking, athletic, a good job, and spiritual, etc.  After a year or two of praying that prayer, they would come to me frustrated with God for not answering their pleas.  I would always ask, “So has no one even asked you out?”  They would inevitably answer, “Oh sure, but they were not what I am looking for!”  I knew many of the men these women turned down and the truth is they were good guys, committed to the Lord, with good character, and would probably have made excellent husbands and fathers.  What these women needed was a good, reliable car.  When God sent a Ford instead of a Lamborghini, they were offended.

To the still lonely ladies, the men who asked them out were the Jordan River, not the rivers of Damascus. It’s not that they dated these men and found there was something lacking, they simply refused to believe that God might answer the heart of their prayer in a way he felt was best –  rather than in a way they felt they deserved or, at least, romanticized about.  

When we pray for something, we may want to leave the “how” of the answer up to God more than demanding he deliver the answer on our terms.  If I’m not offered the promotion I wanted, but am offered something a little less, do I feel like God has stiffed me?  If I want instantaneous healing, but am only offered a long, arduous healing process through doctors, do I reject that or feel that God has failed in his promise to heal me? If I don’t get the miraculous check in the mail but have to discipline myself and pay off my debt over time, do I take offense at God because I didn’t get bailed out quickly and painlessly as I had hoped?

If you look at most of the miracles in scripture, God did not act in anticipated ways.  How does rubbing mud on blind eyes restore sight?  How do a few loaves and a few fish feed five thousand?  How does showing up four days after a friend has died give life? We could go on.  The point is, we should anticipate God answering our prayers, but be open to him answering our prayers in unexpected ways.  

When we sense how he might be answering our prayer, we will still need to pray for confirmation and discernment. The answer will not always be the first thing that happens or the first person who shows interest.  The greatest blessings in my life have been unexpected moves of God that I did not see immediately as his answers to my prayers or needs. In fact, initially, I saw his move as a rejection of my need for comfort, control, and predictability. However, they turned out to be incredible blessings when I went with what was happening.

Let me encourage you to pray without ceasing.  Ask God for what you need and even how, but be open to his answering in ways that do not match your preconceptions. Ask for eyes to see what he is doing and wisdom to walk through the process he has ordained.  God is a Father who is always multi-tasking…answering your prayer while developing your faith, skills or character so that you can steward well the answer to your prayer when it comes.  When you begin to feel as if God is not responding, remember Naaman.  Don’t refuse to open the present just because it isn’t wrapped in your favorite paper!