April 06, 2020
There’s nothing that moves the heart of God more than the honest, humble cries of His children when they are in trouble. Look through the Scripture and you will see that this is so. He is a perfect Father who is perfect in mercy.
OVERWHELMING GRIEF
Hannah was a woman who had a deep burden. Her passion for a child of her own drove her to the temple to pray. Once there, we read this heart-wrenching statement:
She, greatly distressed, prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. (1 Samuel 1:10)
Hannah didn’t deny her problem or her grief. When she explained this to Eli she said, “I am a woman oppressed in spirit.” She didn’t try to “put on a happy face” before God. And neither should we.
One of the reasons we connect so deeply with the Psalms is because of David’s honesty. He cries to God about his suffering; the attacks upon his life; his great distress. He knows that God’s presence is a safe place to let his pain out and he does so, repeatedly and unashamedly.
But the great turn in both their stories came because of the direction of their conversation.
UNCEASING PRAYER
Hannah went to the right place with her grief.
Notice the two constants in these statements: the Lord and prayer.
No one else could open her womb and create life. Hannah knew this well and so she went continually to God to plead her case. Graciously, the Lord heard and answered her prayer, giving her a son that would become one of the greatest prophets in human history. Samuel would be the answer to her prayers and much more.
ARE YOU PRAYING?
All of us are distressed. All know times of grief. But are you discharging your burden in the one place that will make a difference? To the Omnipotent One who rules heaven and earth? The Promise-Keeper and Way-Maker? The Creator of all of life?
He is a merciful God and will hear your prayer. And, you can trust Him to answer your desperation in the way that is right, regardless of when and what you think that answer should be. He knows what He’s about.
Father, thank You for your perfect care for us. Thank You that You know our needs before we even ask them. That You clothe the lilies of the field and feed the birds of the air. Jesus, you understand our grief, having lived in human flesh and are daily interceding for us to the Father. Help us to come to You, not as the last resort, but our first response. And thank You that you will answer in a way that is always best.
January 15, 2025
Imagine a child created by God and for whom He had sent His only begotten Son to redeem and His Spirit to indwell. And then imagine that child ignoring Him, never communing, never praying, never listening, never obeying. And then realize how an attentive, unceasing life of prayer would delight the heart of the Father who made you.
January 14, 2025
Spending hours in solitude with God alone is foreign to us. We are not familiar with God. He is, for most, a distant entity, not an every day Father.
January 13, 2025
What is more important to you than anything else? Check your values, for they will drive you this year. And what value is it if a man gains the whole world but loses his soul?
