Romans 15:30-33
Will you be my prayer partners? For
the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake and because of your love for me—given to
you by the Holy Spirit—pray much with me for my work. Pray that I will
be protected in Jerusalem from those who are not Christians. Pray also
that the Christians there will be willing to accept the money I am
bringing them. Then I will be able to come to you with a happy heart by
the will of God, and we can refresh each other.
And now may our God, who gives peace, be with you all. Amen.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
Sometimes, “life” has a
cumulative effect…and this last few months has been no exception. We’ve
been left to ask “Why?” a million times with the unexpected passing of
several loved ones and friends. And now, a senseless and horrific
shooting in our little community has taken yet another friend, injured
his wife, and traumatized three of his five grandchildren.
There
is no “good” answer for why this happened. We trust that God has a
plan…but still we grieve and mourn – and scripture supports these
emotions. And when we can - as we can - we pray. I will tell you that
there have been countless times – sometimes for days on end – when my
prayers were jumbled at best. But there’s an answer for that in
scripture, too. Romans 8:26 tells us…”And in the same way—by our faith —
the Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems and in our praying.
For we don’t even know what we should pray for nor how to pray as we
should, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with such feeling that it
cannot be expressed in words.”
A lot of the time these days, I
truly don’t know what to pray for…I need direction, a renewed purpose,
strength, peace, comfort – and wisdom to offer encouragement and hope to
others. And there doesn’t seem to be an adequate way to express all of
this to God. But here’s the really cool thing…He knows anyway! God
knows what we need, and when we face times like this where our words
seem so inadequate – or simply will not come together in a way that
makes sense – the Holy Spirit advocates for us. And God gets the
message!
So will you be my prayer partner today? Will you join
me in asking God to meet our needs in any and all situations, from the
simplest of days to those when the whole world seems to fall apart?
Will you depend on the Holy Spirit to advocate for you when words won’t
come…and convey your jumbled thoughts to God in a way that they make
sense and express your deepest longings, heartaches and distress?
Will
you trust God to understand your grief and frustration – and to
orchestrate a way to manage all of this? Will you lay it all on the
line and allow God to make some sense of it all? Do you trust Him to do
this? Will you pray for others who are on a similar journey and
recognize that in joining with them in “corporate prayer,” we flood
heaven with a clamor so loud that it must ring in God’s ears?
I
know that God hears the tiniest whisper…but He can’t help but take
notice of the din of our corporate petitions. This day, let’s lay bare
our hearts and souls before God. If words fail you, simply say, “I’m
here, LORD…and I need you.” He will know what to do. Let’s ask God to
meet our needs – and the ones of those around us – according to His
will. And let’s trust that the Holy Spirit will fill in the details. I
am looking for Christian friends and disciples today who join in this
heavenly chorus. Will YOU be my prayer partner?
©2016 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment