Silas
Beloved of All
Your honest cry has been heard, and the Lord knows the weight you are carrying and that you cannot untie these knots or straighten this path in your own power.
The Scripture reminds us that the Lord Himself is our light and our salvation, and the strength of our lives, so we do not need to be afraid. He is our shield and our defense. When we trust Him, our hearts can rejoice because He helps us. If we look inside ourselves for strength, we will come to a place where our own strength is not enough and we will fall. But when we trust in the Lord and lean on His strength, He will not let us down. He sustains us as we cast our burdens on Him, and we can say with confidence, I will trust in God and not fear what others or circumstances can do.
You asked for strength as you seek the Lord through fasting and prayer. That seeking is honored by God. Fasting is a biblical way of denying the flesh for a time so that the spiritual life may be fed and strengthened through prayer. Jesus Himself fasted, and He taught that some spiritual battles are faced only through prayer and fasting. A fast does not have to be a complete abstaining from all food to be meaningful, especially if your daily work requires strength. Any sincere denial of the flesh that sets you apart to seek the Lord can be used by Him to strengthen your inner life as you wait on Him.
As you seek Him, ask Him to do what only He can do in the heart. The heart is deceitful above all things, and we do not even fully know our own motives. Out of the heart flow the issues of life, so we are called to guard it with diligence. The best prayer we can pray is the one David prayed, Search me, O God, and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts, and see if there is any wrong way in me. God searches the heart and knows what is there, and He delights in a broken and contrite heart that wants to be made right before Him.
Many of us live with a divided heart, pulled between what we want and what God wills. David asked the Lord to unite his heart and to fix his heart upon God. A fixed heart is not wavering, but settled upon the Lord with a singleness of purpose. As you pray, ask Him to unite your heart to worship and trust Him alone, to give you a steady course.
He also works in you both to will and to do according to His good pleasure. He places His desires within our hearts and then gives the ability to carry them out. When your desires are shaped by Him, your delight becomes doing His will. He sees the heart and the motive behind it, even more than the outward act.
You asked Him to deliver you from trouble, to untie knots and to straighten what is crooked. He is the One who delivers when we are trapped and have no way out. He is our strength, our shield, the horn of our salvation and our high tower, a place of safety and advantage over the enemy. Bring your tangled paths to Him and trust Him to make them straight.
May the Lord grant you according to His good will for your heart and fulfill His counsel for you. May you rejoice in His salvation and find His Word to be your strength and your portion each day. May He keep His hand upon you, give you His strength, His peace and His love, and lift this heavy burden as you continue to seek Him. In the name of Jesus we ask that He deliver you, quiet your heart, and lead you forward on a straight path.
The Scripture reminds us that the Lord Himself is our light and our salvation, and the strength of our lives, so we do not need to be afraid. He is our shield and our defense. When we trust Him, our hearts can rejoice because He helps us. If we look inside ourselves for strength, we will come to a place where our own strength is not enough and we will fall. But when we trust in the Lord and lean on His strength, He will not let us down. He sustains us as we cast our burdens on Him, and we can say with confidence, I will trust in God and not fear what others or circumstances can do.
You asked for strength as you seek the Lord through fasting and prayer. That seeking is honored by God. Fasting is a biblical way of denying the flesh for a time so that the spiritual life may be fed and strengthened through prayer. Jesus Himself fasted, and He taught that some spiritual battles are faced only through prayer and fasting. A fast does not have to be a complete abstaining from all food to be meaningful, especially if your daily work requires strength. Any sincere denial of the flesh that sets you apart to seek the Lord can be used by Him to strengthen your inner life as you wait on Him.
As you seek Him, ask Him to do what only He can do in the heart. The heart is deceitful above all things, and we do not even fully know our own motives. Out of the heart flow the issues of life, so we are called to guard it with diligence. The best prayer we can pray is the one David prayed, Search me, O God, and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts, and see if there is any wrong way in me. God searches the heart and knows what is there, and He delights in a broken and contrite heart that wants to be made right before Him.
Many of us live with a divided heart, pulled between what we want and what God wills. David asked the Lord to unite his heart and to fix his heart upon God. A fixed heart is not wavering, but settled upon the Lord with a singleness of purpose. As you pray, ask Him to unite your heart to worship and trust Him alone, to give you a steady course.
He also works in you both to will and to do according to His good pleasure. He places His desires within our hearts and then gives the ability to carry them out. When your desires are shaped by Him, your delight becomes doing His will. He sees the heart and the motive behind it, even more than the outward act.
You asked Him to deliver you from trouble, to untie knots and to straighten what is crooked. He is the One who delivers when we are trapped and have no way out. He is our strength, our shield, the horn of our salvation and our high tower, a place of safety and advantage over the enemy. Bring your tangled paths to Him and trust Him to make them straight.
May the Lord grant you according to His good will for your heart and fulfill His counsel for you. May you rejoice in His salvation and find His Word to be your strength and your portion each day. May He keep His hand upon you, give you His strength, His peace and His love, and lift this heavy burden as you continue to seek Him. In the name of Jesus we ask that He deliver you, quiet your heart, and lead you forward on a straight path.
