Tag Archives: struggle

More on Relinquishing Prayer

10 Monday Oct 2016

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I have continued to ponder the subject of relinquishing prayer and there are a few more thoughts I would like to add this morning. Thank you to those who gave feedback; it has helped me to sort through what I said and hopefully respond more fully.

First of all, to relinquish something to God doesn’t mean you must never mention it to Him again. Most likely you will continue to pray about what you relinquished, but you will pray differently. The “relinquishing” part is to accept what God gives, to be in agreement with Him even if it is contrary to what we want to happen. It is a step in greater trust.

I know the scriptures that say to persevere in prayer and the respected teachers who say never give up; neither do I argue with them. But I also know when Jesus prayed in Luke 22:42, He prayed a prayer of relinquishment: “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done” (NASV).  I suspect most of us will at one time or another come to a place where this is the prayer that should be ours.

We must be sensitive to the Spirit to know how God wants us to pray. If we come to a time when we feel we are to relinquish a particular matter to the Father’s hands, our prayers may then turn more to words of trust and thanksgiving. When the concern comes to mind, rather than petition as we have, we thank Him for His mercies shown us throughout life. We thank Him for being the good, loving Father that He is. We thank Him that we can always trust Him, no matter what. And we certainly want to thank Him for the peace that I believe He always gives when we relinquish our will to His. We might pray like this: “I know that you see things I cannot see, that Your thoughts and ways are far higher than man’s. Your word tells of your steadfast love and mercy and I thank you that I can count on such love and mercy. Keep me in Your perfect peace and my eyes fixed on you, Lord. I love you and relinquish my will to yours and count it all joy to do so.”

Until and unless you come to a time that you feel led to relinquish the way you are praying. I encourage you to continue asking and seeking and knocking at the door of heaven. Always pray as the Holy Spirit leads. If you stay close to Him, you will know in your spirit how to pray. Pastor David Cross, First Assembly Memphis, says, “If you love Him and stay near Him, you will hear Him speak to you like never before.” Prayer is conversation with God and the Holy Spirit lives in us to guide how we are to pray.

Dr. Charles Stanley, In Touch Ministries, says “God’s primary goal is our ultimate good, not our comfort or short-term happiness—He wants what is best for us in light of eternity” (In Touch Devotional, October 8, 2016). Everything in this life is short term. May we strive for the eternal in all our living and praying.

Your will, O Lord, is the safe place, the joy place, the glory place.

The Loaves & the Fish, the Storm-tossed Sea

14 Wednesday Oct 2015

Posted by in God's faithfulness

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Scriptures in Matthew 14:13-21 and Mark 6:30-44 tell the story of how Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Only men were counted in that day, so we know significantly more than 5,000 people were fed. We can be sure that Jesus didn’t leave the women and children hungry. And after each person was filled, there was enough bread and fish left to fill twelve baskets.

Let’s think in the fullest sense of this miracle and not hurry over a story we have known since childhood. The truths of God need to settle into our minds and hearts and form a solid foundation of faith for the trials that come to all of us. There is less sting in our trials when we can immediately reflect on who God is and what He can do.

Scripture tells us after feeding of the thousands, Jesus immediately sent the disciples on ahead by boat while He went alone to a mountainside be in prayer. We know He was there for hours because scripture talks of “when evening came” (John 14:23 and Mark 6:47). Then we see another reference to time when it says Jesus went to the disciples “during the fourth watch of the night” (John 14:24 and Mark 6:48). The fourth watch of the night was between 3 and 6 a.m.

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The disciples were far out on the sea when it became storm-tossed. The Greek word used for measuring distance was stadia–an eighth of a mile or 660 feet. Some Bible translations say “many stadia” or “over a mile.”  My intention here is to have us see how physically far away Jesus was from the disciples when they found themselves in trouble  and how they probably thought Jesus was unaware of their plight. Surely, they must have felt alone and without hope—just as we sometimes feel today. Yet . . . Jesus knew! There is never a distance so great that we are separated from the Lord when we are His children.

These stories reveal to us quite a few things:

  • God has great compassion for every child of His.
  • There is nothing He cannot do.
  • We need quantities of time alone with God: to ponder what He has done for us, to give Him more than a nod of thank you, and to be strengthened for future trials.
  • Time alone with God should be a priority, as it was with Jesus.
  • We should not rush our alone time with God, but rather, linger as long as we can.
  • God is never skimpy with His love. When His answers come, we can count on added blessing.
  • No one is overlooked with God. He has no partiality with stations in life as man does.
  • We are not to waste what God has given. Our leftover fish and bread may be in sharing the struggles of our life and how God saw us through. Never fail to share how God provides.
  • We are never alone; He always knows where we are and will come to us at just the right time.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  — Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)

The Weight of Our Prayers

05 Saturday Sep 2015

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When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.           —Isaiah 43:2 (ESV)

Yesterday, I leafed though a Bible I had not used in a while. I have a habit of writing prayers on small pieces of paper and tucking them in between the pages of whatever Bible I’m using and this Bible had quite a few of those prayer notes.

When I write out my requests, I add a scripture for praying about the concern, then date it. I noticed as I sorted through my prayer notes, some had dates with a few words indicating progress. Still others the date when my prayer was answered, along with expressions of joy and gratitude.

file00074226366What caught my interest was when I realized how the weight attached to those prayers had changed over time. Some of the prayers have yet to be answered and when initially written, the weight seemed overwhelming. Yet today, though the needs are still there and important to me, the heaviness has lessened. Somewhere along the way, frantic fear was replaced with peaceful acceptance of whatever was the end result. Along the journey of praying and trusting, God brought me to places of sweet release.

Many of those prayer notes had been written when much in my life seemed out of order and definitely out of my control. I was afraid for many things, and as a result, fear framed my prayers. I clearly remembered the level of my anxiety with many of them and how hard it was to keep pushing through.

“Pushing through” faith is what keeps us hopeful. It can also keep us safe from making bad decisions. Our years of walking with the Lord make us stronger and serves as reference points when we need them. We lean into the memories of other hard times we’ve had and how God’s grace got us through.

In reflecting on those prayer notes written several years ago, I know that no matter how grim something may seem at the time, help will come. The prayer may be answered just as I pray and even better than I pray. Or, I may still be praying for an answer years later. But this I know for sure: if I don’t get the answer I hope for, God will give me the strength and courage to manage what is. I know this because He has proven it to me over and over. file000551198693

There is only one secure foundation: a genuine, deep relationship with Jesus Christ, which will carry you through any and all turmoil. No matter what storms are raging all around, you’ll stand firm if you stand on His love.                                              –Dr. Charles Stanley, “In Touch Ministries”            

(Pictures courtesy of morgueFile, under “prayer”)

God’s Faithfulness

31 Monday Jan 2011

Posted by in Christianity, prayer

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Father, the psalmists wrote so beautifully about You.  Thank You for sharing with us their words.  David was our chief psalmist and he was masterful in his writings, but there were others who wrote the songs of long ago that also told of You with great skill.

Psalm 89 is one of the many psalms where words become like a brush on a painter’s canvas.  This psalm is by Ethan as he recounts Your covenant with David, and the sorrow of lost blessings.

Verse 8 says “You are mighty, O Lord, and Your faithfulness surrounds You.” I rest my reading for a moment and look out into the distance to consider how faithfulness surrounding you might look.  I see a cloud-like atmosphere of gentleness, a place of safe abode.  It is filled with omnipotent love.  You are there watching over us, beckoning the weary, soothing the heavy burdened, smiling on the ones who overcome trial by their trust in You.  Your faithfulness flows out on all those who call You Lord.

Verse 15 says “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim You, who walk in the light of Your presence, O Lord.”  It is another place to pause and envision.  Your redeemed ones are standing in the light of Your being, which is greater than a thousand suns.  These, Your children, are praising and worshiping the Lamb of Glory.  They are rejoicing in Your faithfulness, calling out the many ways You have proven Your love over and over again.

The psalmist tells of Your faithful love for David, and how You will be with him always.  Yet in verse 38, there is a sudden turn.  Ethan puts aside his recounting of Your blessings and declares that You failed David, the one You promised to uphold forever.   His words turn from those of praise, to weeping and questioning.  It is another place for reflection.  A place to be still and ponder.

You had a relationship with David like no other, this man You took from shepherd to king.  You told us David was a man after Your own heart.  Yet, there were times when he felt separated from You.  Sometimes he understood why this was and other times he didn’t.  And so it is with us.

Sometimes we feel You have abandoned us.  We feel anxious and troubled over unanswered prayers.  We worry that our valley experiences will never again lead to the mountaintops, that we will be pressed beyond our ability to bear what life hands us.  Most of the time, it is our sin that interrupts relationship.  But other times we feel abandoned and we don’t know why.  One catastrophe after another comes; we are hit hard.  And we cry out like the psalmist, “How long, O Lord?  Will You hide Yourself forever?” (v. 46)

This journey on earth is tough.  It is complicated, frustrating, and exhausting.  Being a Christian doesn’t take that away, usually it makes it worse.  For living as a follower of Christ in a fallen world gives ongoing struggle with evil.  Life on this earth will never be without suffering.  But it is not in disappointment and despair that we are to live.  Rather, we are to live in the knowledge of One high and lifted up.  It is there we must cling.  Even when it “feels” like You aren’t with us, You are.   You never forsake Your children.  That’s the full story of the Holy Bible, and we can rest in its truth.

With all the psalmist’s grief and groaning, he ends by exalting You.  He returns to the way his psalm begins.  He gives you praise and honor!  This man of old tells us that no matter how deep the pain, You are still with us and we can trust in that.

Now I reflect again on this writing of the 89th psalm.  It tells me that I am always to see my Lord with faithfulness encircling Him.  There is no break in Your faithfulness — it remains.  And it is through praise that we are able to enter in.  For Your word says that You inhabit our praise; we can always find You there.  And when this world’s darkness seeks to overwhelm us, we can remember we have a choice:  to tarry in the darkness of this world, or step confidently into the Light that is Your presence.   For faith isn’t a feeling; it is a decision.

Thank You, blessed God, for the words and assurance of this psalmist.  He is a witness of Your faithfulness.  His words have been preserved for us so that we may know what relationship with You looks like.  We thank You, Abba Father, for the encouragement of this psalm.

NIV translation used.