It is often in times of trouble or hardship that we turn our thoughts towards our fears and circumstances happening all arounds us instead of focusing our minds and hearts on God and His unfailing love. Why do we do that? People are easily swayed by worry, anxiety, and fears. They zoom in on the problem they are facing and forget to stay calm and bring it to the Lord in prayer. People in our society have not supported the idea of going to God in prayer as a first line of defense when things get troublesome or difficult, but they should! God designed prayer for this very purpose. The Name of the Lord is a strong tower, a place we can go to and find shelter. God knows our defenses are weak if we are trying to carry all our heavy burdens throughout life on our own. That was never His plan or intent. It is man who has chosen not to take God up on his offer to relieve him of his fears, worries, doubts, and anxious thoughts. That is one of our biggest mistakes of all time. It has caused pitfalls of mental illness, depression, and an anxiety-stricken society that fails to perform at the capacity God created them for. Our full potential is not being reached as we serve God if we are not taking advantage of the incredible power of this amazing gift and weapon called prayer.
I often like to share these words of wisdom with friends, “Just pray, don’t panic”. Prayer has always been one of the things we could use as a weapon that would directly impact the enemy and set him in a state of panic… not us. It is at that moment that God takes control of the situation and the enemy realizes He is no longer able to persuade us and trick us if God is entering the battle. When we get on our knees in humility and honor towards God to praise Him, thank Him, and talk to Him about all that we have on our plate that day or in the weeks to come, He is happy to spend that quality time with us in conversation through prayer. He desires to help us and nurture us. God’s plans are to give us some comfort and relief from our burdens through sharing them with Him in our prayer time and through the reading of His Word. We realize we are no longer alone in this battle and that the battle belongs to the Lord! This turns prayer into a powerful weapon to defend against the enemy’s schemes, combining it with the strength of God’s Word and allowing that combination to turn into a place of peace and comfort in times of trouble. Prayer is also meant to be a place of thanksgiving and worship in times of blessing and joy.
One of my favorite things about prayer is that it gives us that beautiful place of peace and safety where our hearts can pour out our burdens and talk to God one on one. I praise Him as our loving and mighty Father in Heaven, who will allow us to “cast all our cares upon Him for He careth for us.” (1 Peter 5:7). Life can bring many ups and downs. Given the current state of things in our world today with the pandemic crisis and all the horrible deaths that have occured all over the nation and around the globe, it is at times like this that I am forever thankful that God does allow us to kneel before Him at the throne of Grace and appeal to Him with our praise, thanksgiving and requests.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend time chatting with God and communing with Him on a daily or even hourly basis? Well stop wondering and give it a try! God is waiting for each of us with open arms to dive right into deep conversations with Him just as often as we pick up our cell phones to chat with an earthly friend or loved one. Prayer is the BEST, most CLEAR, most DIRECT line of communication you can ever want or have. It is our GIFT from God to empower us to speak to Him whenever we want! He is ALWAYS listening and ready to lend an ear. Spend some time with Him today and be blessed beyond measure as you connect with God and release your worries and your fears to move towards healing and confidence in the life that lies ahead of you - one that I hope will be less stressed and more prayer-directed in the future. May God bless you as you reconnect with Him through the powerful communication of prayer.
