“…And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!” Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!” Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household.” John 4:46-53
When the nobleman went to Jesus to beg him to come heal his dying son. Jesus, choosing not to go to the nobleman’s son to heal him, simply says to the nobleman his son will live and that he should “go your way.” “Go your way” is translated from a single Greek word, Πορεύομαι, transliterated as poreuomai, which per Strong’s concordance includes in its meaning, traverse, journey, travel, depart, go, and walk. Jesus is essentially telling the nobleman he should so believe in Jesus and in what Jesus says that the nobleman should get on with his life. What does the nobleman do? He believes Jesus and gets on with his life. That’s when he discovers Jesus has healed his son.
I don’t believe the Lord is telling His followers in this that He will answer every one of our prayers the way that we want, but that we should so believe He is Lord, and so believe He’s sovereign and knows what’s best, and so entrust our hearts and lives to Him, and so have faith in Him, and so look to God as Father, who loves and cares for us, who is all knowing and all powerful, who is compassionate, merciful, and whose love and mercy never fail and end, that we can pray to Him, trust Him to answer how and when He desires for His glory, and carry on with our everyday lives.
I confess so often I have prayed to God, convinced what I prayed was best, convinced He should answer affirmatively, and immediately, and stuck close by Him waiting for Him to answer, questioning Him, doubting Him if He didn’t answer my way, or right away, begging Him, debating with Him, trying to prove to Him why my prayer should be answered, etc. And, even when I believe the Lord by His Spirit spoke to my heart, instead of believing what He told me, I would continue to press into Him, with doubt in my heart, tenaciously trying to get my way. All the while neglecting what I could and should have been doing in love for and obedience to Him in my everyday life had I simply trusted the Lord had heard my cries, trusted He would answer in His time however He wanted, and went on my way as the nobleman in these verses.
Should we not so trust the Lord when we cry out to Him that He will hear us and answer us according to His will, which is always best, and so believe what He may by His Spirit in accordance with His Word speak to our hearts, that we simply believe in Him and go on our way, continuing forth with the lives He has given us?
I don’t know about you, but these verses are a wonderful, albeit convicting, and assuredly refreshing inspiration to me to believe in the Lord, in who He is, and in what He says, in what He does, in His sovereignty and majesty, fully entrusting myself to Him, and going forth in the life He has so blessedly given me, remembering to thank Him for hearing my cries and for answering them according to His most glorious will!