How to Pray When the Pain Won’t Stop
10.11.20

2 Corinthians 12:1-10 NIV I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.


Consider this…

This message carries a significant depth with it.

· Some will reject.

· Some will put it on a top shelf for later because they aren’t hurting right now.

· Some will set it aside because it asks difficult questions not easily answered.

· Some will readily embrace it.

· Some will begin a journey.


It has been argued that the greatest weakness of Pentecostal Theology is that we have no clear theology of suffering.

Don’t misunderstand:

· There is no virtue in suffering merely for the sake of suffering.

· We know that God is able to heal.

· We know that God does heal.

· We ought to pursue healing aggressively.

· The debate rages as to whether or not “immediate healing” is inferred in the atonement.

· “By His stripes we are made whole.”

Consider 2 Corinthians 11:24-33.
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.


Paul spoke of the signs of Apostleship; of the Fellowship of His Sufferings: burdens, problems, sufferings, hurtings. These were public knowledge. But there was a secret hurting that he was not allowed to share with anyone else.


It is a problem described as “a thorn in the flesh” that he has carried for 14 years.


Note this distinction: The problem may not have been secret, but the background and inner workings of it were.


Understand this:

· Paul had been greatly humbled in chapter 11 - he was very, very low - but God lifted him very high in chapter 12.

· The danger Paul faced was in the potential for spiritual pride.

· God balanced his life to prevent that from happening. Often we see an intentional burden that balances intense blessing.

· The word used for “thorn” here does not suggest an irritating but insignificant object under the skin. It is the word used often for a “stake.” Something used to impale. Paul’s idea was to communicate that this was “something severe.” And it was long-lasting.

· What is so distasteful and disconcerting to us is that Paul also considered the thorn to be a blessing of God.

· The Bible doesn’t tell us what the problem was, so speculation abounds. I think this reflects the wisdom of God so that everyone of us can apply the principle to whatever our thorn might be.




I.Some reasons we may be hurting

A.We may hurt because of consequences of a sinful past.

1. Some sins carry greater baggage than others.

2. Yet this is not necessarily so.

3. God does restore.

4. Note: God does not let shame or regret dominate our future!


B.We may be hurting because God is chastising us.

1. In our present lives, we need adjustments from time to time.

2. It is guaranteed part of the Christian Life. (See Hebrews 12.)


C.We may hurt because God is strengthening us.


D.We may hurt because it is keeping us from sinning.

1. This was Paul’s situation.

2. This is perhaps the most difficult reason for us to understand.



II.How should we pray when the pain doesn’t go away?

Note: It is doubtful that anyone can “fix” this for you. It is usually a dark night of the soul that we must go through largely on our own. But I know this: God is faithful!

A.It may be appropriate to pray in order to escape suffering.

1. This is normal and understandable.

2. There are things we don’t want to “enter into.”

3. Jesus prayed this way in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39).

4. Paul prayed for this several times.

5. That’s why we said our natural recourse is to seek God for health and healing whether through natural or supernatural means.
6. Romans 8:26 we pray in the Spirit because we don’t always know how to pray the will and wisdom of God.


B.It may be appropriate to pray in order to endure suffering.

1. This was the testimony of Paul and the advice of Peter.

2. Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him.


C.It may be appropriate to pray in order to embrace suffering.

1. As difficult and as strange as it may sound, Paul allowed his suffering to serve him, enabling him to better serve Christ.

2. There is a very thin line between giving in to suffering and embracing it. Some lose their identity and their victory to suffering. But God is able to give us a supernatural ability to understand that “when I am weak, that’s when I’m really strong.”

3. “I will glory in my infirmities.” They took him back to the basics; back to the foundation: “TO LIVE IS CHRIST; TO DIE IS GAIN.”



III.Now for the hard part: How do I embrace suffering?

A.Receive it as a

1. Job 1:21 “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.”

2. This was not misappropriation by Job, nor was it fatalism. It was an understanding that nothing touches my life without the permission of God.

3. I can’t answer every “what about…” but I know God will make all things right.


B.Rely on the

1. Suffering Grace (2 Corinthians 12:9)

2. Singing Grace (Colossians 3:16 - “singing with grace in your hearts”)

3. Speaking Grace (Colossians 4:6 – “Let all your words be seasoned with grace.”)

4. Sacrificing Grace (2 Corinthians 8:1, 2 – through the grace of God, they gave out of deep poverty.”)
5. Strengthening Grace (2 Timothy 2:1 - Be strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.)


C.Reflect the

1. “The promises of God never shine so brightly as when they do in the furnace of affliction.” - Charles Spurgeon

2. “Don’t waste your sorrows.” - Paul Billheimer



Christian Life Lessons

1.Expect divine intervention.


2.Enjoy the pursuit of His presence and power.


3.Embrace, when necessary, for the glory of God.