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Question 8
The lesson quotes Honorius/Theodoret urging, “Do not ask to be delivered from affliction…Resign yourselves into his hands…he holds the helm of all things”; what kinds of prayers might you need to stop praying (or start praying differently) if you really believed affliction can be “profitable” under God’s governance?
Another way to ask: If you really believe suffering can help you under God’s control, what prayers should you stop praying, or start praying in a new way?

Direct Answer Based on the transcript, we may need to stop praying as if the main goal is immediate escape from hardship and instead pray with submission to God’s wiser governance. The change is from “remove this now” to “grant what is to my advantage, at the proper time, according to Your will.”

Support from Transcript:

  • Honorius/Theodoret is quoted: “Do not ask to be delivered from affliction, for you do not know what is profitable for you…Resign yourselves into his hands.”
  • The reason given: God is “your governor,” “holds the helm of all things,” and “wisely arranges everything relating to you.”
  • He says God “will grant those things that will be to your advantage,” implying our requests need reshaping.
  • Ambrosiaster: the Spirit helps by not allowing what we ask “before the proper time or against God’s wishes.”
  • Bercot’s example of Paul: Paul asked for removal, but God answered with sufficiency of grace and power “made perfect in weakness.”
Discussion Follow-ups Which repeated prayer requests in your life are mainly “deliver me” prayers? How might you keep the request but add a deeper aim—endurance, holiness, or wisdom—without pretending pain is good in itself?

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