heavy

So much is going on in the lives of people around me. My heart feels heavy for some good friends that are losing their home soon. For a mom friend that is being wounded and rejected by her own child.  For a group of people that are hurt by changes that are meant for good.  For a sweet teacher that flew halfway across the world to be used by God, yet has been attacked by an infection.

In all this, I have been reminded of my own powerlessness. I cannot fix any of these problems. I can’t heal anyone, change anyone’s mind, repair any families. All I can do is pray.

Why do we say it that way? As if prayer is some last resort… some desperate attempt to do good when all of our other efforts have failed?

Prayer is a spark that ignites power! Results! Answers! Healing! Freedom! I have spent so much more time praying this week with all of these issues weighing heavy on me. The more I pray, the lighter I feel. Is it because I have seen results after praying for one week??

Not really. The answers are slow in coming. I feel better because the more I pray about a situation, the more convinced I become that God is listening. He is watching. He is planning. He is preparing His rescue. He is coming!

King David describes the Lord’s response to our prayers in Psalm 18. Allow me to personalize it for you:

⁶ In your distress you called to the LORD;
You cried to your God for help.
From his temple he hears your voice;
your cry comes before him, into his ears.

⁷ The earth trembles and quakes,
and the foundations of the mountains shake;
they tremble because he is angry [at your enemies].

⁸ Smoke rises from his nostrils;
consuming fire comes from his mouth,
burning coals blaze out of it.

⁹ He will part the heavens and come down;
dark clouds will be under his feet.

¹⁰ He will mount the cherubim and fly;
he will soar  on the wings of the wind to save you.

¹¹ He will make darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.

¹² Out of the brightness of his presence clouds will advance,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

¹³ The LORD will thunder from heaven;
the voice of the Most High will resound.

¹⁴ He will shoot his arrows and scatter your enemies ,
great bolts of lightning will route them.

¹⁵ The valleys of the sea will be exposed
and the foundations of the earth will be laid bare
at the rebuke of the LORD,
at the blast of breath from His nostrils.

¹⁶ He will reach down from on high and take hold of you;
he will draw you out of deep waters.

¹⁷ He will rescue you from your powerful enemy,
from your foes, who seem too strong for you.

¹⁸ They confront you in the day of disaster,
but the LORD is your support.

¹⁹ He will bring you out into a spacious place;
he will rescue you because he delights in you.