Taking God at His Word

"When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. 
'Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,' Jesus told him, 'you will never believe.'   The royal official said, 'Sir, come down before my child dies.'
Jesus replied, 'You may go. Your son will live.'
The man took Jesus at his word and departed."
John 4:47-50 

Sometimes we have to tackle tough subjects. We need to be honest about the things we struggle with when it comes to God's will. We all have questions like: Why hasn't God healed me? Why hasn't God provided for me? Why did my loved one die? Why doesn't my circumstance ever seem to get better? I doubt that there is one person who hasn't had these kinds of questions. I have asked them myself. I know God has the answers, but they don't always seem to match mine. I'm not sure we will ever fully understand the answers in this age, but there is a solid rock that we can hang onto. 
    The man in the story above was about to lose his son. He was near death and the last possibility was for him to receive a touch from Jesus. It took a measure of faith for the man to go to Jesus. After all, he had only heard about him and Jesus had only performed one other miracle. So it was a final effort on his part to attempt to save his son. The man had expectations. He felt that if Jesus could heal his son, he would have to go to his house, lay hands on the boy and raise him up before he died. This was the measure of faith the man had. To him, it was big faith, but Jesus had the power to heal the child in any way he chose. Even if the boy died, Jesus could raise him up. 
    It must have been a disappointment when Jesus did not go with him to touch his son. He may have felt that his faith had let him down. But Jesus chose to heal the boy in a different way than the man expected. Jesus simply told him to go home, for his child was made well. So the man never saw Jesus lay his hands on his son. He never experienced the joy that experience would have brought to him. But he was willing to receive anything Jesus had for him, even if it looked different than he expected. And so he took Jesus at his word and went home. While he was still on his way home, his servant ran to meet him with the news that the boy was well. He had been healed at the very hour Jesus had told the man his son would live. 
    So when we ask the tough questions, we need to be able to receive answers that may be outside our level of faith. God can do all things and it may look completely different than what we expect. We are forced to, "Take him at his word."  I think we miss receiving the healing, deliverance, and blessings of God sometimes because we simply don't take God at his word. We lack the faith to believe that he will do what his Word tells us he will do. I don't think it matters if you forcefully claim his word, or you beg him. There is no formula. The man who came to Jesus begged him for his son's life. Maybe that's what you must do. Maybe you should just command it to be done. Whatever method you choose is not the issue. Taking God at his word is the issue. If you will simply believe what God promises, act on that faith by asking, and receive the answer in whatever way God chooses, you will receive what you ask. If we stop questioning God's power and start taking him at his word, we will have whatever we ask.