A Woman's Call to Prayer :: Chapter 7

Chapter 7:: When You Are Hurting...Pray!

One of my favorite words in the English language is "bittersweet." This picturesque term also reminds me that many occurrences in life fall simultaneously into the glad-sad category, bringing forth both emotions at once.

We wonder, How can something be both bitter and sweet at once? It can only be so because of God's great power and grace! As you have probably already experienced, it is God and God alone who is able to sweeten what is bitter (Exodus 15:23-25), to make the one who is sad become glad (Psalm 30:11), and to turn something bad into something good (Romans 8:28)

Lesson # 1-- Cast your burden on the Lord.

He who watched over the infant deliverer of Israel in his cradle of rushes, who sent His raven to feed Elijah by the brookside, who protected Daniel in the lion's den, and kept Paul calm and cheerful in the hurricane, is the very One who says to us-- roll your anxieties over on Me, for I have you in My heart!

Lesson #2-- Resist the temptation to run away

You must stay and pray! You must stretch yourself out and strive in prayer!

And be assured, dear praying heart, that if a way of escape becomes necessary in your grievous situation, if the heat of battle becomes more than you can bear, God, who is faithful, promises that He will provide a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13).  He will deliver you.  He will come to your aid. He will rescue you.  He will see to it! You can depend on Him!

Lesson #3-- Believe that God will sustain you

-Psalm 55-

¹⁶But I call to God,
   and the LORD will save me.
¹⁷ Evening and morning and at noon
   I utter my complaint and moan,
   and he hears my voice.
¹⁸He redeems my soul in safety
   from the battle that I wage,
   for many are arrayed against me.
¹⁹God will give ear and humble them,
   he who is enthroned from of old,
                          Selah
because they do not change
   and do not fear God.

 ²⁰My companion stretched out his hand against his friends;
   he violated his covenant.
²¹ His speech was smooth as butter,
   yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
   yet they were  drawn swords.

 ²² Cast your burden on the LORD,
   and he will sustain you;
 he will never permit
   the righteous to be moved.

 ²³But you, O God, will cast them down
   into the pit of destruction;
men of blood and treachery
   shall no live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.

Checklist for Prayer

 -Stay-

the wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion

Proverbs 28:1

-Pray-

Look up! When your soul is in sore straits, there is no solace and no cure comparable to prayer.  That's exactly when you must seek God on bended knee.  Resist, with God's help, the urge to emote. Refuse, with God's strength, to sink into a variety of emotion and/or sinful responses.  Refrain, with God's self-control, from self-pity, self-righteousness, anger, and depression.  Reject, with God's grace, the temptation to ask Why.  Don't allow yourself to rant, rave, disintegrate into a puddle, fall apart, or collapse.  Instead of fainting, pray (Luke 18:1)

Cast your burden on the LORD,
   and he will sustain you; he will never permit
   the righteous to be moved.

Psalm 55:22

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.

 James 1:2

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

Hebrews 12:15

-Weigh-

And after all, where does humility grow? And trust? And faith? It grows in the crucible of the fire of trials...

pg.75-83