We prayed so hard, but He didn't answer!

Every time we are faced with a life threatening crisis in the lives of our loved ones, our natural instinct compels us to ask for healing. So we pray and we tell our friends, our relatives, and our priests to pray for healing and deliverance. We recall so compulsively all the miracles of healing we read about in the stories of saints. A friend might bring us a bottle of a special holy oil that does miracles; another would volunteer to bring a piece of clothes that were worn by one of the saints. We do everything possible to make our case before God that this person should be healed, nothing else. We even try to strike a deal with God and bargain with Him regarding the results. Yet, when God decides otherwise and no healing comes our way, all the prayers seem to be gone in vain and with our hopes, and the miracles stories appear meaningless and we are left with angry souls and bitter hearts that only agree on one question, why? We prayed so hard and God did not answer.
In my opinion, we all have distorted ideas and beliefs about healing. But no matter where we get those ideas from, it boils down to one definition and action; getting better and being relieved from a life threatening disease or a disability. However, throughout the Bible when we look at the big picture from Genesis to Revelation, one can find a different meaning and purpose for healing. God created Adam and Eve for a life free from disease and sickness, but they had to suffer the consequences of their rebellion against God. Of these consequences, were to be cast out from paradise, Adam had to toil the land which in turn will produce thorns for him, Eve had to labor in pain, and both will die and return to the dust from where they were taken! (Gen.3:16-19)
From that moment on, we see sickness, disease and pain as God's judgment over the sins of people. In the book of Leviticus 26 we read a long list of the blessings resulting from walking toward God in His light; and also the consequences of pain, suffering, and sickness we are to have when we walk away from God in darkness. In Exodus 23:25-26 “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And will take sickness away from the midst of you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days." We read about God who heals and lifts up the pain of His people because He wants to bless them. There are numerous verses and biblical accounts of people walking away from God and suffering the consequences, and the same God who heals those people when they walk again toward Him.
We see also Jesus in the gospels, He heals the sick, gives sight to the blind, makes the lame walk, the deaf hear, and the mute speak. Basically His ministry was mostly about healing the people as He had compassion on them (Matt. 9:35-36).
But, what about us? Don't we deserve the same compassion too? Why miracles stop at our door and refuse to enter? What happened to the thousand of books telling the testimonies of those dead, sick, hopeless people who were healed by Pope Kyrollos, Saint Mena, Saint George and hundreds if not thousands of saints and martyrs? We find ourselves again facing a painful silence when we ask why.
If we distant ourselves for a moment from our personal expectations and perceptions and look at the way and the purpose for which, our Lord Jesus healed the sick in His ministry, I believe we can reach a peaceful conclusion.
As stated above, since unhealthy life was the result of walking away from God, Jesus came to demonstrate to people the kind of healthy life they would enjoy when they accept Him into their lives. Malachi 4:2 "But to you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings" in his prophecy about the coming of Christ with healing to His people, we understand that Jesus administered healing only as a mean to show people the kind of salvation and healthy life they would have when He enters their lives. Therefore, healing in the Scripture was not a goal in and out of itself, rather a tool, an image, or a tangible way for people to see first hand the salvation of the Lord. The blindness of sight was only a mere representation of the blindness of the heart; the mute person who couldn't speak was an image of the nation that could not praise the Lord because of their sins. We come to this understanding as Jesus commands the invalid person who was disabled for 38 years after healing him to go and to sin no more "afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” (John 5:14)
Another way of looking at it is to ask, what is the benefit of God healing someone without this person acknowledging the healing experience and walks in the way of the Lord the rest of his or her life? versus a person who might be fighting cancer and God allows healing and as a result, this person becomes a living testimony of the Lord and her life changes and so do the people around her. Jesus resurrected Lazarus from the dead but eventually he died again. So this miracle was not a purpose in and out of itself, but was only a testimony or in our terms today, a visual aid for people to know and understand the resurrection they would have when Jesus commands their lives out of the dead.
We have to admit that we live in an evil and fallen world. Crises and diseases are what we suffer from as a result of walking away from God. Is God unfair to do this? Well, I can only say that if we turn the lights off in a room and find ourselves in darkness, can we blame the light? No, we are the ones who turned it off and the only way to escape darkness is to put this light on again. Therefore, God desires to heal us His way. He wants to use our crises and sickness to lead us toward the ultimate healing He has for us where we all arrive Home in Heaven where there is no more tears, pain, nor suffering.

We prayed so hard, but He didn't answer! No, He answered. He healed him but not with our temporary, physical healing, but the Ultimate Healing where no corruption or decay and only everlasting joy and peace.

There is more to this issue and I'd love to write more about it out of your comments.