We don't always know the reason for our trials, but God revealed to Paul the reason for his "thorn in the flesh." It was to keep him from being "exalted" (See 2Co 12:7). Success can be intoxicating, and intoxicated people aren't known for being too bright or trustworthy!

What happens when you get a thorn in your flesh? It hurts. And you'll let everything else go while you focus on removing it. Three times Paul prayed for God to remove the thorn, but God had another plan. You see, God is at His strongest in us when we are at our weakest. When Paul discovered that God's power in his life was tied to the thorn that afflicted him, he responded, "I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities...For whenever I am weak, then I am strong" (2Co 12:10 NRS). In other words, "If it's for my good, bring it on, Lord!" If you've a thorny person in your life from whom you've prayed to be delivered and it hasn't happened, maybe God wants you to experience His grace and power through dealing with that person. But you won't experience this until you move from pain to praise.

The Bible speaks about "the sacrifice of praise to God" (Heb 13:15). A sacrifice means that something has to die on somebody's altar. So if we want to experience God's grace and power in our life, we must be willing to die to self-interest, ego, and independence. There's nothing wrong with asking God to remove our thorn. But when our prayer for deliverance turns to praise, we're on our way to power, because God is giving us grace.