When I was 14 years old, I prayed “God, break my heart for what breaks yours.” It was a prayer from deep in my heart and something that I prayed persistently. I expected that God would show me his heart breaks for those who struggle with addiction, or children without parents, or those who don’t have homes. I was waiting for God to show me what broke His heart so I could learn to love God and His people well.

After twelve years of a prayer for a broken heart, I have learned that brokenness breaks God’s heart. Period. God’s heart breaks for all brokenness in this fallen world. My brokenness breaks God’s heart. Your brokenness breaks God’s heart. The brokenness of all creation breaks God’s heart. There is no brokenness that God does not see and no brokenness that He does not want to make whole.

I spent so long trying to figure out who needed to be made whole without realizing it had been me all along. Until we can come to an understanding that our own brokenness breaks God’s heart, we will never be able to point others toward healing and wholeness. We need to be put back together first. I don’t know what your brokenness looks like. Maybe it’s sin you can’t escape, a failed relationship, or illness. Maybe it’s something completely different. Whatever it is, name it.

Name your brokenness and then bring it to God. Nothing is too broken for God to heal and make whole again. God might not restore things in the manner or time frame that we think He should. Naaman was healed from leprosy by washing in the Jordan river seven times, which he thought was an absurd way to be cured (2 Kings 5). Naaman wanted to be cured faster and in a way that made more sense to him, but God’s way worked.

If we want God’s healing and restoration for ourselves, our families, and our communities, we have to surrender to His timing and His ways. Once we allow God to make us whole, we will see that God’s heart is broken for more people and things than we could have once imagined. But in our health and wholeness, we will better be able to point others to the One who made us whole.

If you are feeling too broken to be fixed and have given up on prayers for healing, know that God has not forgotten them. Even if you have forgotten your prayers, God remembers and He still cares. We don’t see the whole picture, but God has immeasurably more in store for me and for you. He takes what was meant for evil and uses it for good, to give life (Genesis 50:20). Hold on. He’s still working. Our stories aren’t over yet.

Author: Mollie