The Prayer of Suffering

The Concept

There will be suffering! So naturally there is a Prayer of Suffering. The victory of the cross is not that we will avoid suffering but that we will pass through it and find triumph on the other side. As George MacDonald said, “The Son of God suffered unto death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His.” For Christ himself was“a man of sorrows acquainted with grief” “who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross.”

Take comfort that your suffering is not for nothing. God uses everything for something beautiful and good, according to his eternal purpose (Eph. 1:11 and Rom. 8:28). As we mature spiritually, we gracefully find that joy and suffering are not opposed but are complementary. Our hearts are enlarged and sensitized by suffering; our trust in God grows; our perseverance is strengthened; our trials becomes a our ministry to others (Rom. 5:3-4). Sorrow is full of purpose and meaning: it unleashes compassion and healing in the world.

As we persevere in our own sufferings, we are also called to share in the suffering of others, to stand with them in their sorrow and in their sin … not at arm's length but in the middle of their mess. As we allow ourselves to be carried beyond pat answers and beyond pity into the true sharing of emotions, our prayers become “we” rather than “he, she, they.” Of course, once we have taken up a burden, we must also release it into the arms of the Father and enter his rest, because we are not required to be heavy laden. “Hold the agony of others just long enough for them to let go of it for themselves. Then together we can give all things over to God.”

Fasting is a physical sign of the seriousness and intensity of the Prayer of Suffering. We relinquish a physical necessity to show our need for even greater nourishment. Fasting is a sign that nothing will stop us in our struggle on behalf of the broken and oppressed. Mysteriously (and not magically!), fasting has weight with God and an affect upon others. It is not to be self-torture but a sign of submission and dependency upon the hand of God.

When God's glory is revealed, we will see what a privilege suffering has been: our own suffering in this world, suffering for the sake of Christ, and the sharing in the sufferings of his body. “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1Pet. 4:13, also Rom. 8:18).

The Experience

I think the Prayer of Suffering is a two-parter. It's prayer during your own suffering, relinquishing your hold on your broken heart to the Lord to accept his healing and his use of your experience. It's also prayer during someone else's suffering, either with them or for them, that goes beyond intercession because you truly enter into their suffering and take on their pain as your own and present it to the Lord.

I am not a tearful person, so when I cry, I know something powerful is happening within me. On a few occasions, while praying, the Holy Spirit has moved me to weeping as my heart opens to the cause of another person. This has even happened for total strangers. Though I don't particularly know the words I prayed in those situations, the memory of the prayer experience is strong.

In another very timely “coincidence,” this topic of prayer came up the very week that several of my close friends had organized a fast and prayer session for me! I was truly and deeply comforted by the willingness of others to deprive themselves of food, time, and their own agendas to help me shoulder my burden and carry it to the cross. I was amazed at the differing perspectives each individual brought to the table, illuminating and clarifying the situation in unexpected ways. I am convinced the Lord builds us up and teaches us and unites us through the shared suffering of the body.

The key to really allowing yourself to be moved by another's situation is to really understand their situation. I don't mean pry into all the details, but I do mean step into their shoes. This week I was praying for an acquaintance whose story and personality I don't know much about, yet I found that the more I prayed not for things but about things (the more I told her story to God almost conversationally), the more I found myself understanding her heart and the truths at work below the obvious crisis. Only then did I know what I should be praying for! This prayer is love. You will be surprised at the healing that takes place in your own heart as your lift someone else up for healing in this way.