Health

[Chrysostom]

Your request has been heard and brought before the Lord with care, for you carry a double burden of bodily weariness and spiritual dryness. The lack of energy and motivation and the lingering pain in your lower back are real afflictions, and the sense that God feels distant only makes the weight heavier.

Take comfort in this, that your very lament is a sign that your soul is not insensible. There are those who sin or suffer and feel nothing at all, and that numbness is the deeper danger. But you grieve that you cannot feel God's presence, you mourn the distance, you desire Him. That mourning itself shows that your heart is still tender toward Him and has not become past feeling. God counts that desire as precious.

Remember also that we cannot flee from God in place, for He is everywhere present. As the Psalm says, where shall I go from Your Spirit, where shall I flee from Your presence. If there is distance, it is not because He has moved, but because in purpose and weariness and pain our hearts feel far off. The prophet says our iniquities can separate between us and God, and the wicked flees when no one pursues him, yet God still pursues us. Even when you do not feel Him, He remains near, and He hears the groaning that you cannot put into words.

So continue to draw near to Him in the small faithful ways you can. Bring your pain and tiredness to Him honestly in prayer, even with few words. Hear His word daily, even a short passage, and ask Him to give light to your understanding. Rest as you are able and steward your body with patience, trusting that He who made the body cares for its healing.

We pray for you now. Father in heaven, we thank You that You are near to all who call upon You through Jesus Christ, and that nothing can separate us from Your love in Him. We ask for Your mercy upon this Your servant. Lay Your healing hand upon the pain in the lower back and grant relief. Restore strength and energy, and renew motivation for each day. Lift the cloud of weariness and let Your presence be known again, not only in feeling but in quiet confidence that You are with us. Give peace to the heart that longs for You, and keep it from discouragement. Sustain and comfort and lead into renewed hope, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your honesty about feeling low in energy and motivation, carrying lingering pain in your lower back, and not sensing God's presence is heard and taken seriously before the Lord.

Not feeling Him does not mean He is not with you. There are seasons that are like high viewpoints where you can look back and clearly trace how the Lord has been protecting and keeping you even when you did not notice it at the time, and there are seasons in the valley where you cannot see much at all. You are in a valley now, and in a valley the sense of His nearness often fades even though His presence has not left. The very fact that you miss that sense of nearness and want it back is itself a sign of life in your relationship with Him, a desire for the vitality of fellowship that He Himself wants to restore.

Scripture reminds us that His mercies and compassions do not fail and are new every morning. Each morning is a fresh opportunity for Him to show His love and goodness to you, not because you have earned it or because you feel strong, but because He is faithful. That is true on days when your body is tired and your back hurts and motivation is thin, as well as on days when you feel well. His commitment to you is not measured by your energy level or by what you feel.

God also created the ability to feel pain for a purpose, to alert you that something needs care. Lingering pain is wearying and it can drain both strength and hope, and it is right to bring that pain to Him and also to seek wise care for your body. At the same time, pain does not define whether God is near. He desires to bring you back into deeper fellowship and oneness with Himself through Jesus Christ, to restore you to communion with Him when sin and weakness have made you feel distant. That way back has been provided at the cross, not by your effort to work your way in.

The battle for strength, for healing, for renewed hope, and for the assurance of His presence is not yours to fight alone. You can stand still and look to the Lord to be your strength and salvation, waiting on Him and hoping in Him rather than striving to manufacture feeling or energy on your own. To wait on Him is to receive His love and to walk with Him day by day, opening your heart to what He wants to do because He loves you.

We are praying that the Lord will give you renewed strength, ease the pain in your back according to His wisdom, lift the heaviness that saps motivation, and make His nearness known to you again in a quiet and real way. May He help you to notice His mercies each morning, to remember His faithfulness as you look back over your life, and to rest in the fellowship He has provided for you in Christ.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf. We are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer. We have been continuing to lift you up for your health, asking the Lord for renewed energy and motivation, for healing and relief from the lingering pain in your lower back, and that you would once again feel His nearness and presence.

We know how discouraging it can be to feel weak and weary in body and spirit and to feel distant from God, and we have asked our Father to renew your strength and to make His presence known to you in a tangible way. We hold to the promise in Isaiah 40:29 that He gives strength to the weary and in Psalm 34:18 that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted.

If your request was answered and the Lord has restored your energy, eased the pain in your back and drawn you into a renewed awareness of His presence, please post a praise report and let us all know so we may rejoice with you. If your request does not seem to have been answered and you are still lacking in energy and motivation, still experiencing pain in your lower back, and still cannot feel Gods presence, please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer. We want to keep standing with you for complete healing and encouragement.

We pray that God will fill you with fresh strength, bring healing to your body, restore your motivation and joy, and let you know deeply that you are loved and never forsaken. May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His Son Jesus Christ. We pray in Jesus Name amen.