Pray in faith
The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore, my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. – Psalms 28:7
Sometimes I start my prayers be telling God what I am going through. It’s not a bad thing, but a lot of the time it will turn into voicing my frustrations in my current situation instead of focusing on His power to change it. Other times I have approached my Father by pleading with Him to do something or change a predicament that is going on. Again, I don’t think that it offends God, but it is not the most effective way to pray. In the New Testament in the book of James we are told that it is the prayer of faith that gets results and in Hebrews it says that without that faith, it is impossible to please God.
In Psalms 28, David starts out his pray to God by crying out for help. It is the right thing to do to go to Him with our troubles, but David actually sounds like he is telling God what to do. He said: “Do not be silent to me or I will be lost in the pit,” “Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry and reach out to you.” He also commands: “Do not take me away with the wicked who have evil in their heart but punish them according to their wicked deeds.”
Then in verse 6, David transitioned his pray, turned the focus onto God and what he knew God was able to do and had done in the past. His prayer becomes full of faith as he shifted his focus from the earthly problems to the power of the eternal God in heaven. His words are much different as he changed his heart posture from demanding to humility. Verse 6 on says: “Blessed be the Lord because He had heard the voice of my crying out. He is my strength and shield of protection. I trust Him and He helps me. Now my heart is greatly rejoicing, and I will praise Him with my song. He is my strength and saving refuge.” David ended his prayer by praying beyond his own problems and life concerns. He said: “Save Your people and bless your inheritance. Shepherd them and carry them forever.”
If we like David begin to change your prayer attitude to one of focus on the power of God in our troubles instead of focusing on how bad the trouble is, we will begin to be much more effective and powerful in our prayer life. God is strong and He is able to do what seems impossible in our small thinking. He knows the big picture, and nothing is too difficult for Him.
So today I want to encourage you to consider the way you come into His presence. Do you come in when you have tried everything else first and use prayer as a last resort? Do you run to Him as soon as things get uncomfortable and plead your case of righteousness blaming the circumstances and people around you for the discomfort. Instead, come boldly to the throne of grace in humility and praise. Thank Him for all He has brought you through. Remember the past victories He has given you. Then tell Him you know He will do it again because you are asking now and putting the problem in His hands to bring you through to His planned outcome. He may not take the struggle away and you may not have an immediate miracle, but He will walk with you through it all and you will come out on the other side ready to face any challenge with your Savior that comes next. Remember also to pray for your nation and the people around you. We live in a messed up world and trust me, there is no way to live a problem free life, but when you walk closely with Him and determine to follow His direction, you will sail through the storms to safety every time.
Today’s scripture reading: Psalms 28
1 To You I will cry, O Lord my Rock: Do not be silent to me, lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
3 Do not take me away with the wicked and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors, but evil is in their hearts.
4 Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors; Give them according to the work of their hands; Render to them what they deserve.
5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them and not build them up.
6 Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplications!
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him.
8 The Lord is their strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
9 Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, and bear them up forever.
The Daily Dose 