The Sheep on the Shepherd’s Shoulders

by Lisa LaLonde

What do we do when our prayers seem to have no results? We start praying from obedience to the Word of God which says, “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) Many of us have prayed and not received, nor found what we were looking for, or had doors open for us. We persevere, but it would seem that while we are interested in good results (a healing, a friend’s salvation, a restored relationship, financial breakthroughs) God is willing to let those go…even when we are in desperate straits. How do we come to a place of seeing God at work even when our prayers go unanswered?

I recently had this principle demonstrated to me in a painfully personal way. God was not answering my prayer for healing of a broken foot. Being a good persevering, patient saint, I endured and muddled through. I was a sheep with a broken foot that the Shepherd was carrying on his shoulders, but I was frustrated at watching the other sheep run and do the Kingdom’s business. But then I realized that I was closer to the King than to the Kingdom’s business, and that was an extraordinary place to be! I could hear his heartbeat, feel his footfall, have his perspective from his shoulders, and rest while he took care of my business. After months of resting on his shoulders, I thought I was ready to get down now, please. But still He said no. Each time the answer was no, I went into a deeper place with him. The kind of place that only comes from spending time on his shoulders. At one point he asked me a question: “Little sheep, if I healed you and put you down on the ground in front of me, would you run away?” I had to admit the answer was yes. I would run just for the sheer joy of being able to, and I knew I would suddenly turn around and find myself miles from the safety and presence of the Shepherd. The Shepherd, who is very wise, said to this sheep, “Until you are willing to stand and not run even though you can, you are not ready to be healed.”

There came a day when I was ready, and it was not due to the effect of time on my body but time on my soul. I knew in a deep place that it was worth more to stand in front of the Shepherd and not use newly healed feet than to run for the joy of running.

One day I suddenly found myself lifted off his shoulders and placed on the ground with new, supernatural strength in my feet where the day before they had been weak. Because I missed his shoulders, I did not run. I wanted to be close to his heartbeat, so I did not turn to listen to the sounds of the Kingdom. Because I knew what a smile was like before it hit his face, I wanted to please him. He waited. And then, with a great laugh, he said to me, “Run!” Running is sweet now as long as it brings me back to him.

Was it worth the wait for my healing? I can assure you it was. Not because I have a testimony now, but because I have spent time on the shoulders of the Shepherd himself. I found a secret to prayer that is worth finding: While we are interested in results, God is interested in relationship with us. He’ll hold off the answer just to keep us close to him if that’s what it takes! Oh, Lord, that we would all stand in front of you with our healed feet and wait upon you before we go about the Kingdom’s business. Lord, teach us to pray. Teach us to bless your heart before we ask for blessings. Amen.

© 2005 Lisa LaLonde
Published in Wings of Prayer, the quarterly newsletter of Camps Farthest Out’s United Prayer Tower, Spring 2005