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What to pray even when I feel I can’t

what to pray even when I feel I can't

How many times I have come to God looking for Him to revive me. Having more of life is the cure for any of my troubles and I know only my Lord can give it to me. It comes to me based on His promise to give it and I receive it through His grace. It is good for me to know what to pray for.

I lie defeated in the dust;
    revive me, as you have promised. – Psalm 119:25  GNT

Sometimes I am tempted for pray for the little things – more of something like comfort – but these little things come with the bigger ask when my life is renewed in Christ and the blessing that is rooted in rest and peace is what I wanted and needed all along. Knowing the promises of God is the first step in knowing what to pray for. I read a powerful testimony this morning in this blog post – is it not an amazing thing to read of one struggling, then finding the promise and then be renewed, revived and receiving everything they had hoped for?

At the end of the day this is where I might find myself – laying defeated – I pray to live. Revived – I pray for more of life. In both cases I find myself praying and in both cases the object of pursuit is the same – I would love to have life and to have it more abudantly.

What does it mean to seek God?

Usually it means that we pray.

Turn to the Lord and pray to him,
    now that he is near. – Isaiah 55:6  GNT

It is unfortunate that so many feel they cannot. I have heard people say they do not have enough knowledge about the Bible, God, or His promises to say the “right” things. Knowing God seems to be on the top of the list because they just do not know how to make prayer “sound” – by that, is my prayer too coarse or too casual or too holy and by that, do I sound like a hypocrite?

Unfortunately, I know there are preachers who preach one cannot pray until they have become followers of Jesus. Lot’s of walls being thrown up everywhere and they have become obstacles for some people.

I love how this verse encourages all of us – it calls me to turn and look to Jesus. It calls me to pray. It encourages me to know that He is right there with me – near me – and we are both enjoying each other’s presence, company and time.

“But what do I love when I love my God? Not the sweet melody of harmony and song; not the fragrance of flowers, perfumes, and spices; not manna or honey; not limbs such as the body delights to embrace. It is not these that I love when I love my God. And yet, when I love Him, it is true that I love a light of a certain kind, a voice, a perfume, a food, an embrace; but they are of the kind that I love in my inner self, when my soul is bathed in light that is not bound by space; when it listens to sound that never dies away; when it breathes fragrance that is not borne away on the wind; when it tastes food that is never consumed by the eating; when it clings to an embrace from which it is not severed by fulfillment of desire. This is what I love when I love my God.” – Augustine

 

When it is difficult to pray remember that it is a means of divine grace

 

 

 

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The Israelites story of having to turn back to the wilderness after rebelling against God teaches me to also understand that even though those times were difficult, God was still with them.

I think we have all gone through those times when we find it tough to continue walking the walk that Jesus has called us to. Do we not call it “walking through the wilderness” as we feel God so far away? I find these are the times where I will find it most difficult to pray or read my Bible. Definitely will not engage in worship. Joy cannot be found anywhere and it is so hard to hang in there. That is why I find my strength in the simple discipline of reading a prayer or reading a chapter in my Bible every morning.

Here is one that gets me going.

Do to them what you did to the Midianites,
    and to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
You defeated them at Endor,
    and their bodies rotted on the ground.
Do to their leaders what you did to Oreb and Zeeb;
    defeat all their rulers as you did Zebah and Zalmunna,
who said, “We will take for our own
    the land that belongs to God.”

Scatter them like dust, O God,
    like straw blown away by the wind.
As fire burns the forest,
    as flames set the hills on fire,
chase them away with your storm
    and terrify them with your fierce winds.
Cover their faces with shame, O Lord,
    and make them acknowledge your power.
May they be defeated and terrified forever;
    may they die in complete disgrace.
May they know that you alone are the Lord,
    supreme ruler over all the earth. – Psalm 83:9-18 GNT

Talk about calling on God’s justice and jealousy for me and for His own honour. The key is that I may be preserved, my enemies humbled and God glorified.

 

I am faced with the grand fact of the prevalence of prayer.

The Lord is compassionate, and when you cry to him for help, he will answer you. – Isaiah 30:19b

Let’s face it – is it not the most wonderful gift that God has given – to be able to pray? I know I can present my prayers to Him because all along He intended to hear them. How do I know? He gave His only Son, that through that atonement I might be able to approach Him. He did not stop there. He gave me His Holy Spirit to assist me in prayer because let’s face, I really do not know how to pray.

Is the key not in the prayer itself but when God actually answers it? When the prayer is true, the heart of the prayer is heard even before it is even offered. Grace makes me pray. God is graciously waiting for me to pray and has given me prayer as a privilege to enter into His presence – why would I not turn to Him now, with all my heart and cry to Him?

I mentioned earlier about the Holy Spirit – why pray in the Spirit?

It is the place to keep me in the love of God.

But you, my friends, keep on building yourselves up on your most sacred faith. Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. – Jude 1:20  GNT

“The means of divine grace” is keeping ourselves in the love of God and it is something I cannot do on my own. God is the decisive keeper of my soul. If not for Him, I will not persevere in faith.

“If we settle for mere speculations and mental notions about Christ as doctrine, we shall find no transforming power or efficacy communicated unto us thereby. But when, under the conduct of spiritual light, our affections do cleave unto Him with full purpose of heart, our minds fill up with thoughts and delight in Him–then virtue [change in character] will proceed from Him to purify us, increase our holiness, and sometimes fill us with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Owen