“In my distress I cried to the LORD, and He heard me.” - Psalm 120

“Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul.  Man is at his greatest and highest when upon his knees he comes face to face with God.” - Martyn Lloyd-Jones

The Bible exhorts us to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

There may be times in our life that we don’t even know how or what to pray for.  It is in those times that we realize the necessity of the Holy Spirit in our prayer life.  “For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Holy Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (cf. Romans 8:26-27)   There are times we need to cry out like Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10, “…0h, that You would bless me…”  At first glance this may sound like a selfish prayer, but Jabez is leaving the “blessing” entirely up to God, that is, Jabez is putting His life entirely upon God’s will and His purpose for his life.  He is asking for God’s blessings, not the world’s blessings - “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10: 22)  Laura Story said “sometimes we have to redefine what God’s ‘blessings’ could mean, as she points out in her lyrics to ‘Blessings’ - “what if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life is a revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy?”

This life gives us much to worry about, but as Christ followers, Jesus said, “Do not worry about your life…which one of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?…for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you…sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (cf. Matthew 6: 25-34)

Pastor Rodney