Prayer for Renewed Strength and Hope

[usha rani]

I prayed for this in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for sharing your heart so honestly. We have prayed for you, that God would meet you in this season of weakness, exhaustion and discouragement and lift you up by His own strength.

What you are feeling is something the Scripture speaks to very directly. The psalmist once asked his own soul, why are you so cast down and disquieted within me, and then he answered himself, hope in God. That is the counsel of the Word for discouragement and depression. Hope in Scripture is not wishful thinking. It holds two things together, a deep desire for what God has promised and a confident expectation that He will do it. It is that kind of hope that sustains us when everything around us seems to be failing. It keeps us going because we both desire the Lord to work and we expect Him to work.

Part of what you are experiencing is the weakness of our present condition. We have not yet received the redeemed body God has promised, and we live in a world that is subject to emptiness and weariness. God has allowed this so that we would be drawn to hope, the hope of being with Him and sharing in His glory forever. We are saved by that hope, and because we do not yet see it fully, we wait for it with patience. The blessed hope the Bible points us to is the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ and the gift of eternal life, which God who cannot lie has promised to all who trust in His Son. That future is certain, and keeping that eternal perspective helps us not to be overcome by present suffering. Those who have this hope within them are even purified by it as they look for Him.

Your request for renewed strength and peace is at the very heart of what God promises to His people. He is not distant from your struggle. He is your light and your salvation, the strength of your life, your refuge and your shield. When your heart trusts in Him, He helps you. The Scripture says the Lord will give strength to His people and bless His people with peace. That strength is not your own. Like David, who as a young man faced the giant not in his own power but in confidence in God, and who in his later years still said I will go in the strength of the Lord God, you can look to the Lord Himself to be your strength today. Christ in you is the hope of glory. His presence within you is the guarantee of that future glory.

Without God there is no real hope, but in Christ you have been brought near by His blood and you have been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The God of hope can fill you with all joy and peace as you trust Him, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit your hope will abound. He does this work through His Word. The Scriptures were given so that through patience and comfort we might have hope. As you remember His Word, the same Word upon which He has caused you to hope, you will find both hope and comfort. It reveals His faithful character, His compassion that is new every morning, and His promise that He is a very present help in trouble. Because He is your refuge and strength, you do not need to fear even when everything feels shaken.

We have prayed that God would renew your mind and spirit through His Word, strengthen your faith, and guard you with His peace. We have asked Him to free you from any spiritual oppression, for the battle is His and He is able to fight for you. When darkness seems to surround you and you feel hedged in, look to the Lord. When your eyes are on Him, hope returns, because His Word is true and He is faithful and compassionate. Wait quietly on His salvation and trust Him to restore your strength day by day so you can move forward in the daily life He has given you.

May the Lord Himself be your strength and your portion, lift you up, and bless you with His peace as you continue to hope in Him.