Prayer When Life is Difficult
Right now, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed. I wasn’t feeling that way a week or two ago. But right now, it’s like tomorrow couldn’t get here soon enough because maybe what I’m going through right now won’t be here tomorrow.
Maybe.
Life is complicated. Life is difficult. One day, you’re carrying on like normal, getting your work done, managing your personal life, engaging with those around you. The next, your mind is overwhelmed with all that you have to do, all that you haven’t gotten done, and all that could happen. Relationships are tested, work is getting to be too much (or inversely it’s not enough to keep you engaged), and random things pop up that make you go, “Seriously? On top of everything else?”
What’s weird is, as believers, we sometimes allow ourselves to slip into a fantasy land in which we have control over what’s going on, and what comes in (and out) of our lives. “I believe in Jesus, so everything’s gonna be okay.” And sometimes it is. But then again, sometimes it isn’t. And sometimes it isn’t in a big way.
“In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus didn’t sugarcoat things for the disciples. He looked at them and said, “Guys, this life of yours is gonna suck.” Peter told us, “Don’t be surprised at the fiery trials” (1 Peter 4:12). That’s a little more colorful, but the point is that we will all be dealing with stuff – and not fun stuff. And for believers, it’s not just the basic “life sucks” stuff – we will also be dealing with the focused attacks of the enemy – the spiritual battles fought through others, through our minds, our thoughts, our emotions, our peace – because we have decided to make Christ the priority in our lives. We’ve essentially signed on for double tours of duty.
And it gets to be a lot sometimes, especially when just getting out of bed in the morning can take everything you’ve got.
So what to do?
“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray” (James 5:13). This is our Doctor’s prescription – prayer. It seems easy enough, but I found myself struggling with this simple formula when my mind was filled with my issues this past week. I dwelled on what was going on, what I needed to do, all the things that could go wrong…and thought about praying about it later. Isn’t that silly? I said to myself, “Good grief, you’ve got a lot on your plate – you better get to God about those things, He could probably solve a lot of that with some peace and wisdom if you ask.” And then I went back to stewing.
The strange thing about prayer is that it’s an actual conversation with our Lord and Savior. We’re not speaking into thin air, saying a bunch of magic words, and hoping the right combination unlocks what we need to fight off the monster. “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14). When we speak to God, he is actively listening, not just to the words we say, but to our hearts, our minds, our souls. His Spirit delves deep to understand the parts of us that we don’t even know, so that when our prayers go up, it’s not just the little, “Suzie needs a pair of new pants” prayer that he hears. It’s the, “Suzie’s been made fun of because she’s been wearing the same pair of pants for three months, but nobody knows that I can’t afford to get her those pants right now because my boss has cut down the number of hours I can work, so I’ve been scrambling for a second job, which means I can’t spend as much time with my kids or my husband, who has really been doing his best to understand, but he seems to be getting more upset lately because I’m always gone to work and we haven’t had any time to ourselves like we used to, so I barely know him anymore…” He hears all of that, even when we don’t.
But I can’t even get myself to the “Suzie needs a new pair of pants” prayer. But I think that’s because I get so caught up in what’s going on that I forget that God is sovereign. I dwell on the, “In this world, you will have trouble” part, but I forget that Jesus came right afterwards with a, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
A friend shared Psalm 46 during a prayer meeting. She said that, through all that we are going through, we must always remind ourselves that God is sovereign, “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). And not just over the big global things like political unrest, mass shootings, climate change, and everything else going on in the world. Sometimes it’s easy to trust God with that because we sort of inherently know those things are outside our control. But when it comes to our own lives, we fool ourselves into thinking we have some measure of control there. In truth, our God who is great enough to handle the earth giving way and the nations trembling can also deal with my little problem with my coworker, or the bill that I’m worrying about, or the relationship that’s been on my mind.
We must go to this Lord of Hosts in prayer. We have no reason not to. Prayer gets my mind focused on God instead of my circumstances, on who He is instead of how little control I have, and on what I know He can do instead of what I know I can’t. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Instead of stewing and working myself up into a mess about my problems, God wants me to lay them all before Him through prayer, with a thankful heart, and loose myself of my worries. Why? Psalm 102:7 says, “He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.” I know my God hears me. And if the God who can speak and melt the earth hears my prayers, then what do I have to be afraid of?
Blog photo by Paola Chaaya