The assumption is that, as Christians, we are meant to live a life free from challenges. This presumption is based on the fact that since we are saved in Christ Jesus and have become the children of God, we should not suffer from the crisis that faces the entire human society. Sadly, the Christian life of some Christians and even church denominations is centered around this pursuit. While it is understandable that the pain we go through sometimes makes us think on this line and pray thus, it is, however, wrong biblically to believe that we can have a life totally free from trials.
This explains why the prayer of some people yielded so little or no result. Christians will never be freed from trials and temptations on earth. In fact, we are not meant to be. Rather, we are meant to live and grow through temptation. The truth about Christian life is that life is a battle against the forces of darkness. The moment we become children of God, Satan, and his cohort start mounting every resistance possible so that we do not rise to become what God wants us to become.
The following Bible passages make this point clear:
I have told you this thing, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33) .
Although the meaning of the text addresses a different subject from this subject it however, applies to the situation in our context:
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people in all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case, you would have to leave this world (1 Corinth. 5:9-10). The following passages also reveal this truth: 2 Timothy 3:12 Acts 14:22
The church has, in most cases, used the wrong approach to face the challenges confronting it. We have sometimes unwittingly advocated the denial of the challenge facing us and pretend as if it is not there. And some resort to false hope of praying to be freed from trials and temptation. This is one of the major reasons why the church has been confined to church walls in cowardice. On the contrary, the solution to trials and persecution has been growth in the face of trials, glory through persecution, joy, and peace in the midst of hardship. These texts reveal this truth Psalm 23:5; Romans 5:1-5; Philippians 1:27-30. The church cannot prove the sovereignty of God by shying away from the challenge or compromise but by standing out.