In Jesus Name
“I speak the name of Jesus over you,
In your hurting, in your sorrow
I will ask my God to move.
I speak the name ‘cause it’s all that I can do.
In desperation, I’ll seek Heaven, and pray this for you.
I pray for your healing
That circumstances would change
I pray that the fear inside would flee
In Jesus name.
I pray that a breakthrough would happen today
I pray miracles over your life
In Jesus name.”
What does it look like to pray? To come to God in conversation, offering thanks, and bringing concern at the same time? To sit and be still, believing that something will happen?
Vulnerably, I admit my struggles with prayer and trust. Circumstances in life have hit like giant avalanches covering the enormous ground. At times I have felt like I just got back on my feet good when another hit knocked me back down.
It’s in these moments that I feel the spiritual battle from the enemy trying to take me out. It’s no joke - the enemy knows just what our weakest areas are and boy will he use that knowledge to work on us. Those moments when I feel weak and worried and stressed must be the moments in which I run to God and purposefully place myself with Him.
What I mean by that is this: Worship and prayer are vital to how we will survive the blows of life. Being willing to pray and not only bring our concerns or our fears, but also a heart full of gratitude for and to a God who holds all things together.
I’ll be the first to say that it isn’t always easy. How do we find the strength to praise and be thankful when there is so much pain and uncertainty in our day-to-day life? Why is it harder to praise and trust in difficult times?
Friends, it requires faith. Faith to believe in a good and faithful God. Even when the days seem uneasy and we try to go to sleep even with unsettled hearts. Our faith doesn’t have to be immaculate. You and I don’t have to have it all together. We don’t have to have all of the amazing Bible knowledge. We just have to believe.
Right now as I write, I’m walking through a difficult valley with my family. It’s one of those situations where it seems the road can fork in many different directions. We don’t know how things will pan out. There are a lot of unknowns.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t do well in seasons of waiting. Patience is not one of my best virtues. If I could have it my way, there would be the organization of all the things and clear direction at my disposal. But that’s most definitely NOT how life works.
I cannot physically do anything to change or fix the situation at hand. It’s a helpless feeling. If we aren’t careful, I believe moments like that can lead us to feel hopeless. Often pulling us further away from a good God who loves us and cares so much for us. Maybe you understand the feelings I’ve shared. Maybe you are walking through a season where you are face to face with uncertainty and you aren’t sure what to do. It’s tough for sure.
All I can do is simply pray I’ll be honest, I don’t even know what to say sometimes. Good news - THAT IS OKAY! God doesn’t expect anything from us. He wants our honesty and raw pieces because He already knows every detail about whatever we may be facing. He doesn’t have a magic wand in which He can just bedazzle everything, but I do believe He is a God of miracles and a God to be feared. He is capable of so much more than we can ever be able to imagine.
So today, with whatever kind of situation you are in, know you are loved by the God who holds all things together. You are safe in His arms. Take a deep breath, play some worship music, and thank God for this moment. He has been with you, He is with you today, and He will be with you in the days ahead.
Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer - Luke 11:1-10, NIV
11 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.”
5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity, he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
