Simon Harris<\/a>, explain his journey in going from praying for his fifteen-year-old daughter’s life, who was dying from a brain tumor, to praying that God decides how best to handle the situation. There is no doubt that Simon and his wife desperately wanted to stay with their daughter, but over time they realized that their personal desire might not be the best thing for her. Did they really want her to live an extended life dealing with the damage the tumor caused her body? Or, would life be better for her in a new, incorruptible body while living in the Lord’s care? Eventually, they knew it wasn’t a decision they were equipped to make and so they asked God.<\/p>\nYour friend, because of her grief, has forgotten that one surety of life is that we all die. Charlton Heston made the quip, “The world is a tough place. You’re never going to get out of it alive.” We forget that the earth isn’t what life is all about. Peter referred to Christians as sojourners and pilgrims. We’re just passing through on our way home. That is why living righteously in the sight of God is so important. We want to make sure we make it home. “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation<\/em>” (Hebrews 9:27-28).<\/p>\nGod answers prayers, not with what we think we want or demand, but with what we really need. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!<\/em>” (Matthew 7:7-11). Sometimes we need to take a moment and reflect on how God takes our deepest desires and answers them in ways we didn’t expect and ways greater than we dreamed possible. “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen<\/em>” (Ephesians 3:20-21).<\/p>\nYour friend ought to pray for what she fervently desires and remain willing to accept that she doesn’t always know\u00a0how<\/em>\u00a0those desires should come about and leave those details in the Lord’s hands. Pray that she will be free from the pain of her disease, that her life has meaning to both her and those who love her, that she might know joy and comfort, and that she be found an acceptable servant of God when it is her time to meet with the Lord.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Question: How can I best explain to someone about praying God’s will? Her sister is deathly ill and she just keeps praying for the sister to be cured of cancer. I told her she should be praying God’s will, not her own. She doesn\u2019t understand and I am not sure how to explain it. She…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1510],"class_list":["post-21039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-prayers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19454,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-pray-without-doubt-when-i-know-that-sometimes-i-wont-get-what-i-prayed-for\/","url_meta":{"origin":21039,"position":0},"title":"How can I pray without doubt when I know that sometimes I won’t get what I prayed for?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 14, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about prayer.\u00a0 I understand that the Bible states that when we pray, we are to let our requests to God be given in faith,\u00a0 believing that we will receive. So if I pray that God will help me through a difficult time or give me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48944,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-did-sin-spread-if-it-was-not-inherent-in-men\/","url_meta":{"origin":21039,"position":1},"title":"How did sin spread if it was not inherent in men?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello! I agree with your belief that the Bible does not speak of inheriting a \"sin nature\" from Adam. If you wrote your own version of the Bible, how would you translate Romans 5:12? Or, can you explain how death \"spread\" to all men, since it's our own personal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62030,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/which-apostle-had-it-the-easiest\/","url_meta":{"origin":21039,"position":2},"title":"Which Apostle Had It the Easiest?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall Which apostle had it the easiest? James. That answer may be surprising. Even more surprising is why and how. In Acts 12, James is martyred first among the apostles. Some may question God's fairness, and may even complain, \"Why did God allow James to die but allowed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41520,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-propose\/","url_meta":{"origin":21039,"position":3},"title":"Should I propose?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have read some of your answers as regards marriage and making the right choice. I have always prayed to God to give me His perfect will. I have a girl I truly love -- we both love each other -- and I want to get married to her\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4747,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-does-a-woman-start-wearing-a-covering\/","url_meta":{"origin":21039,"position":4},"title":"How does a woman start wearing a covering?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 10, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've read a few of your statements on head coverings and find it interesting. How exactly can a woman begin to wear some sort of head covering within a church where this is not practiced or even mentioned? The key is to not present it as though they are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67479,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-right-to-say-your-own-prayer-while-someone-else-is-praying-in-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":21039,"position":5},"title":"Is it right to say your own prayer while someone else is praying in worship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, First, I find great biblical knowledge on your Facebook page! It is a very valuable resource for Bible questions and answers. I want your assistance regarding some questions that I have. Is it appropriate or biblically correct to pray aloud (in a hushed but audible voice) while\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21039\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}