What Lazarus Taught Me About Prayer

I recently read John 11, and God showed me a whole other side of that passage than what I am used to. I was listening to a Mark Driscoll sermon recently on predestination. He has mentioned how Ephesians 2 tells us that we were dead in our sin, and he paralleled that with how Christ is able to raise the dead. This was fresh in my mind when I was dong my quiet time the next morning and read through the story of Lazarus.
Wow- that passage took on a whole new meaning for me! I have always enjoyed how personal Jesus is in this passage- He weeps twice over the loss of his friend. He even knows that Lazarus isn’t going to be dead for long, but He mourns for the sadness and grieving of those around him. He feels the same way about us! He is SO personal. He knows our heartbreak, our struggles, our trials. Hebrews 4:15 is so true.
As I was reading through this passage though, I couldn’t help but think of Ryan Dove, a player on the hockey team that I have been praying for over the past couple years. God put it on my heart to pray for Ryan in November 2009, and I have prayed for him every day since then. God has used this prayerful battle to teach me SO much about His character. John 11 is such a great lesson for me! Right now, Ryan doesn’t love God- he is spiritually dead. Similarly, Lazarus was physically dead. If we parallel the stories, we can learn so much!
By watching Mary and Martha’s reactions to Jesus in the midst of Lazarus’s death, I can see how to respond to God in difficult times, especially as I’m praying for Ryan so fervently, and he is still dead in sin. Like Mary and Martha, I can rest assured in my Lord; I can say with full confidence “Lord, if you had been here, he would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” There is no question in my mind that God is able to save. But I trust Him and His perfect timing. Things will happen according to His will, in His perfect timing. He could have saved Ryan years ago- but He has a reason for doing things the way He does them. I trust him, and I wait eagerly to see what He will do next. Additionally, when Mary saw Jesus, she immediately fell at His feet. Falling to someone’s feet is a position of submission and respect- the proper attitude to have towards God! Also, as she left to meet Jesus, people followed her to see where she was going. In the midst of her mourning, she was able to lead people to the Christ! In the midst of my struggles, does my attitude point others to Christ? Do I run to Him for comfort?
As we read further in the passage, we see that Jesus is deeply moved by the people mourning the loss of Lazarus. This is so cool for me- this is where prayer comes in! God knows that (even though I don’t know Ryan) I am so upset about his ignorance to the Gospel. I am upset about his “death.” And Jesus, seeing this brokenness, is deeply moved. In fact, He is so moved, that He too starts to weep. And then He intercedes and prays to the Father. I pray that this is what I happening right now on Ryan’s behalf. When I lay awake at night praying and fighting spiritually for this guy- Jesus is deeply moved. He knows. He doesn’t just sympathize- HE KNOWS. That is huge.
Then (even more shocking) Jesus asks Mary to lead him to where Lazarus was buried. He pursues Lazarus! He seeks him out in order to raise him from the dead. He doesn’t ask the Jews to bring him Lazarus’s body, He doesn’t refuse to save him because Lazarus didn’t come to him for help on his own- He seeks Lazarus out, and raises him from death to life. He takes all the action- dead people can’t do anything for themselves! Likewise, Jesus sought us out while we were still sinners and reached out to save us. He called us from darkness in to light. And the same God that saved me can save Ryan. ☺
This passage taught me SO much about prayer. God may not answer our prayers immediately, but He answers them perfectly. Sometimes He wants us to rely on His promises (John 11:4, 40), sometimes He wants us to comfort one another by finding comfort in Him (John 11:28), sometimes He wants us to seek Him (John 11:31), sometimes He wants us to weep and truly connect (John 11:33), sometimes He wants to make sure everyone is watching (John 11:31), sometimes He wants to silence His critics (John 11:37), and sometimes He is needs to wait to be most glorified (John 11:42).
But one thing is certain: He will always answer for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).