We all have struggles, problems we do not quite know how to handle, or simply times when the clouds hide the sun’s bright rays. It’s at those times when we need to retreat to our prayer rooms, fall on our knees, and pray a prayer of tears. Whatever we bring to God in prayer, He will heal.
Why do we work so hard and pray so little? The answer is we often feel God’s not listening to us, so we spend more time doing the things we feel make a difference rather than in the quiet of prayers. We fail to realize that when we open ourselves up to God’s love, He comes into our presence and fills us with grace enough to truly live. Once you speak to God, you have the wisdom and courage to speak to any man on earth.
When you pray, ask for God’s help. Pray for all who need His help, but do not forget to thank Him, as well! Everything in our lives depends on God, not on man’s abilities. If there is someone in your neighborhood who is struggling, who asks you for help, do what you can and ask others to help. Max Lucado said, “Make the midnight knock.” Keep knocking on others’ doors until they know the need is great. Christ said, “Whoever knocks, the door will be opened.” You may have to make a decision that will hurt your heart or your wallet, but He will heal your soul.
The book of Joshua teaches us that our best days are ahead of us, and I hope that is true for America. God knows everything about us and still loves us. He will give us rest and will bring us out of the wilderness. He will give us new land, a new season, a new inheritance. With all of America’s problems, I pray that God will heal our nation’s politicians’ hearts and minds; I pray that peace will become the norm rather than the “once- in- a- while.” All these things will be granted to us when we pray with out hearts, minds, and souls. What we need is the wisdom and love to forgive all in this nation.
In praying for each other, we will all be healed. Nothing is impossible with God. When Jesus walked into the temple. He became angry at how the temple was not a house of prayer for all nations but a den of thieves. What would He think of us today, having placed religious faiths below so many other worldly issues? What would He think of our churches, a quarter filled with no young people, only gray-haired ones? He wants us to talk to Him, no matter who we are, where we come from, or what we do.
In Gethsemane, Christ prayed for His disciples, and in particular, Peter, whom He knew was being tested by Satan. Christ prayed for Peter’s faith to survive Satan’s pressure and that the disciples would persevere in their faiths and not be blown to the winds. We are “Christ-like” when we pray like Christ did in Gethsemane. We are blessed by the power placed in the loving words of our prayers, as well as all those present. When He is present in our everyday lives, He makes all things new, even the ones we think He doesn’t understand.
So when dark times come and they will when we least expect them, take your cares to the One who walked on water, who calmed the storm, who got you safely to the shore. Don’t just pray for yourself; pray for everyone in your boat. Rowing by yourself is hard until someone picks up the other oar to help. That someone is Jesus Christ.
Anna Hartt
