When Jesus prayed His last prayer on the cross, placing His spirit into the hands of God, He was echoing a bit of a prayer from the Psalms.

I place myself in your care.
You will save me, Lord;
    you are a faithful God. – Psalm 31:5 GNT

I have been praying this prayer now every night since I ran across a sermon this past Easter, committing my wife and I and our two children and their families. There is not a better place to put myself at the end of the day. Death will never have the last word for I trust in Jesus to raise me up from the dead.

It allows me to experience a full range of emotions during the day, especially sorrow. Sometimes sorrow stalls my ability to pray since I know the scripture verses that tell me to be joyful always and never stop praying. What am I supposed to do with my sadness or how will I pray if I am unhappy? What does my prayer look like?

Sorrow is better than laughter; it may sadden your face, but it sharpens your understanding. – Ecclesiastes 7:3 GNT

That is an encouraging word – I need to reflect on the fact that my sorrow is allowing me to grow and to strengthen me. I may not be glad with my circumstances but I can be glad from knowing God is working in me and is hearing me.

These temptations are both on the right hand and on the left. 28 On the right, when riches, power, and honours, which by their glare, and the semblance of good which they present, generally dazzle the eyes of men, and so entice by their blandishments, that, caught by their snares, and intoxicated by their sweetness, they forget their God: on the left, when offended by the hardship and bitterness of poverty, disgrace, contempt, afflictions, and other things of that description, they despond, cast away their confidence and hope, and are at length totally estranged from God. In regard to both kinds of temptation, which either enkindled in us by concupiscence, or presented by the craft of Satan’s war against us, we pray God the Father not to allow us to be overcome, but rather to raise and support us by his hand, that strengthened by his mighty power we may stand firm against all the assaults of our malignant enemy, whatever be the thoughts which he sends into our minds; next we pray that whatever of either description is allotted us, we may turn to good, that is, may neither be inflated with prosperity, nor cast down by adversity. Here, however, we do not ask to be altogether exempted from temptation, which is very necessary to excite, stimulate, and urge us on, that we may not become too lethargic. It was not without reason that David wished to be tried, 29 nor is it without cause that the Lord daily tries his elect, chastising them by disgrace, poverty, tribulation, and other kinds of cross. 30 But the temptations of God and Satan are very different: Satan tempts, that he may destroy, condemn, confound, throw headlong; God, that by proving his people he may make trial of their sincerity, and by exercising their strength confirm it; may mortify, tame, and cauterize their flesh, which, if not curbed in this manner, would wanton and exult above measure. Besides, Satan attacks those who are unarmed and unprepared, that he may destroy them unawares; whereas whatever God sends, he “will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” – Calvin