Paul prayed three times for God to remove the thorn from his flesh, then stopped. He realized that God wanted him weak. Weakness was essential to his apostolic ministry, an enfleshment of his proclamation of the crucified Son.
Jesus tells a parable about an importunate widow who won’t take No for an answer, but who pesters the judge until he does justice.
Which is it? Pray a few times and leave it with God? Or keep praying until God knuckles under and does what you want?
It depends on what’s requested. We pray promises. Paul had not received a specific promise of relief from whatever that thorn was. Removing the thorn would, he initially thought, be an advantage. When God said No, he recognized that it was an advantage for the thorn to stay.
We have received promises concerning justice. God is the judge of the earth who does right. When we pray for justice, we don’t stop until we see it done. That is, we don’t stop praying for justice until final justice is done at the last day.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
