Silas
Beloved of All
Your desperate cry for help in this call has been heard, and I want you to know that God hears even the briefest, most urgent prayer from a sincere heart. The volume or length of the words does not make prayer effective. A silent cry lifted in your mind, a single sentence whispered when you feel overwhelmed, reaches Him just as fully as a long prayer. What matters is not how loudly or how long you pray, but the heart that is turning to Him in need.
That is why the first question about prayer is always about relationship. Jesus gave His disciples a model for prayer that begins with Our Father, and that opening shows that true prayer rests on being His child. If you have come to God through faith in Jesus Christ, you can come to Him as Father and you have open access to speak to Him about everything, including this call that is weighing on you. If you have never settled that relationship, then the one prayer God desires first from you is the prayer of the sinner who says, God be merciful to me, a sinner. That prayer establishes the relationship that makes all other prayer possible.
The purpose of prayer is not to make God do what we want, but to see His will done on earth as it is in heaven. Prayer begins with God and His purposes, He makes those purposes known to our hearts, we speak them back to Him, and He accomplishes them. For that reason we do not come to order God around or to try to persuade a reluctant God to see things our way. We come to align our desires with His. You can bring your deep desire about this call honestly before Him, and at the same time pray, Thy will be done. There are many things God wants to do for us that He waits to do until we invite Him through prayer, not because He is unwilling, but because He will not force His way past our will.
Scripture gives us words for the kind of urgency you feel. The psalmist prayed, Make haste, O God, to deliver me, make haste to help me, and confessed, I am poor and needy, you are my help and my deliverer. That is an honest confession of weakness, and every prayer is in some way an expression of our inability and His ability. Another prayer simply said, Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power. Help us, O Lord. It does not take anything away from God to help you. It is no strain for Him to step into this moment, this phone call, this need.
Prayer also does something in us while we wait for the answer. Often God ministers comfort and assurance in the very act of praying. Anxiety lifts and is replaced by a quiet confidence that He is present and at work, so that we can finish praying with rejoicing even before we see the outcome. Many psalms that begin with a cry for help end with praise for that very reason. And short prayers are not less real than long ones. Every prayer recorded in the Bible is brief, and God does not measure validity by how long we stay on our knees.
So bring this call to Him simply and persistently, and watch with thanksgiving. Continue in prayer, trusting Him with the result. Prayer does not take the place of wise action, it goes before it. Pray and then do what is prudent and right for the call itself, prepared, clear, and honest, trusting God to guide and strengthen you.
Let me pray for you now. Father, I lift this dear one to You who is anxious about this call and is begging for help. Have mercy and show Yourself as Father to this heart through Jesus Christ. You see this need and this moment. You know what is best far better than we do. Do Your will in this call and in this life. Help and deliver as only You can, for it is nothing for You to help. Quiet the turmoil, take away anxiety, and give assurance, comfort and wisdom in this very hour. Give words that are clear and a heart that trusts You with the outcome. Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. In Jesus name, Amen.
That is why the first question about prayer is always about relationship. Jesus gave His disciples a model for prayer that begins with Our Father, and that opening shows that true prayer rests on being His child. If you have come to God through faith in Jesus Christ, you can come to Him as Father and you have open access to speak to Him about everything, including this call that is weighing on you. If you have never settled that relationship, then the one prayer God desires first from you is the prayer of the sinner who says, God be merciful to me, a sinner. That prayer establishes the relationship that makes all other prayer possible.
The purpose of prayer is not to make God do what we want, but to see His will done on earth as it is in heaven. Prayer begins with God and His purposes, He makes those purposes known to our hearts, we speak them back to Him, and He accomplishes them. For that reason we do not come to order God around or to try to persuade a reluctant God to see things our way. We come to align our desires with His. You can bring your deep desire about this call honestly before Him, and at the same time pray, Thy will be done. There are many things God wants to do for us that He waits to do until we invite Him through prayer, not because He is unwilling, but because He will not force His way past our will.
Scripture gives us words for the kind of urgency you feel. The psalmist prayed, Make haste, O God, to deliver me, make haste to help me, and confessed, I am poor and needy, you are my help and my deliverer. That is an honest confession of weakness, and every prayer is in some way an expression of our inability and His ability. Another prayer simply said, Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power. Help us, O Lord. It does not take anything away from God to help you. It is no strain for Him to step into this moment, this phone call, this need.
Prayer also does something in us while we wait for the answer. Often God ministers comfort and assurance in the very act of praying. Anxiety lifts and is replaced by a quiet confidence that He is present and at work, so that we can finish praying with rejoicing even before we see the outcome. Many psalms that begin with a cry for help end with praise for that very reason. And short prayers are not less real than long ones. Every prayer recorded in the Bible is brief, and God does not measure validity by how long we stay on our knees.
So bring this call to Him simply and persistently, and watch with thanksgiving. Continue in prayer, trusting Him with the result. Prayer does not take the place of wise action, it goes before it. Pray and then do what is prudent and right for the call itself, prepared, clear, and honest, trusting God to guide and strengthen you.
Let me pray for you now. Father, I lift this dear one to You who is anxious about this call and is begging for help. Have mercy and show Yourself as Father to this heart through Jesus Christ. You see this need and this moment. You know what is best far better than we do. Do Your will in this call and in this life. Help and deliver as only You can, for it is nothing for You to help. Quiet the turmoil, take away anxiety, and give assurance, comfort and wisdom in this very hour. Give words that are clear and a heart that trusts You with the outcome. Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. In Jesus name, Amen.
