Can Faith Come and Go Over and Over Again
In that location is goose egg like physical pain to bulldoze y'all to your knees in prayer. For 20 years, I was plagued by crippling back pain and sciatica. Time after fourth dimension, I cried out to God for his healing ability on my body, but nothing improved. Even as a prayer warrior, I grew weary in going to God nearly the same thing mean solar day in and twenty-four hours out.
One of the hardest challenges of the Christian walk is waiting for God to reply our prayers when we urgently need him to intervene in a circumstance that is breaking our heart, testing our religion, and robbing us of peace and joy. I accept been on my knees many times with my Bible in hand, tearfully reminding God of his promises when my husband and I were in a fiscal crisis, a friend was stricken with a life-threatening illness, or i of my children was in problem.
Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not become tired, They will walk and not get weary.—Isaiah 40:31 (NASB)
And for years, many of my prayers accept been centered on my own need for a miracle. In 2017, afterward twenty years of pain, I had back surgery to un-pinch my spinal string, supercede deteriorated discs, and straighten my back. The surgery was the reply to my prayers in many means. I am grateful every twenty-four hours that I can at present walk without leg pain and exercise many of the things I love, similar working in my garden, standing long enough to bake cookies with my granddaughter, and traveling to speak for Globe Vision. Notwithstanding, the trauma to the nerves in my back is taking much longer to heal, and I keep to cry out to God.
Of course, compared to the suffering in many parts of this broken world, my pain is goose egg. My center is oftentimes broken by stories most the ongoing hunger crunch in E Africa, the Syrian refugee crisis, and the hatred and violence that seems to be affecting so many. These are problems that only God can solve by changing people'due south hearts and minds. Just he calls u.s.a. to participate by giving what we tin can to those in demand and praying without ceasing, because prayer is our greatest weapon against the powers and principalities of this world — that Paul talks nigh in Ephesians 6:12 — which are at the root of today's suffering.
Like the healing of my dorsum and other situations my family has faced, some prayers have time to fully materialize. Every bit Psalm forty says, sometimes we have to wait for God's timing, and it is not unusual to feel what I phone call "intercession fatigue" when nosotros are faithful to pray, just cypher seems to be happening. 1 of the greatest challenges nosotros face every bit Christians is standing to believe for a miracle when all indications are "it just ain't happening."
Then, if you tire equally you continue crying out to the Lord, here are a few suggestions that have helped me continue to expect my miracle even when all God seems to be saying is "wait."
1. Have fourth dimension to retrieve how much God loves you lot and those yous are praying for.
God'due south love is at the root of all hope and, when nosotros truly dear someone, we will do anything for them. This is how God cares for united states of america. Humans are created in his image, which ways we get our capacity to honey and feel pity from him. In Matthew vii:ix-11, we read that God wants to give us good things. Then, we tin can exist confident when nosotros pray that God hears usa and wants good things for us, those we honey, and for all his creation.
2. Remember all the ways God has been faithful in the by.
Faith is a living expression that grows as we cartel to put information technology into activity. So, if nosotros take time to retrieve all the miraculous ways he has answered our prayers in the by, we will detect new courage and hope for the future — and our faith will grow.
3. Pray the Word.
Scripture gives u.s. the say-so to claim our miracle whether it is concrete healing, reconciliation with a friend or loved i, financial provision, wisdom at work, or even something as seemingly impossible as world peace. Every situation imaginable has an applicable promise in the Bible. Hebrews 4:12 tells u.s. that the Word of God is alive and active, so let God's ain words be your argument earlier his Throne of Grace.
4. Exist comfortable not knowing what to pray.
One of my greatest frustrations when I pray is that, while I can identify the problem, I have no idea how to fix information technology. So, I am uncertain how to pray. That is when I claim Romans eight:26 which says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We practice non know what nosotros ought to pray for, merely the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans" (NIV). God doesn't need our words to know our hearts, and he is faithful to respond even our unspoken requests.
five. Invite others to pray with you.
We all have times when nosotros are simply also tired or discouraged to keep praying, and we need others to come alongside to support us. Even Moses — who led the Israelites out of Egypt — needed a fiddling help from his friends. Exodus 17 tells united states almost a time when the Israelites were in a smashing boxing. Equally long as Moses held upwards his hands, they won. Simply when he let them downwardly, they began to lose. Poetry 12 tells us how when Moses' arms grew tired, Aaron and Hur brought a stone for him to sit down on, and they stood beside him and each held up an arm. We all need Aarons and Hurs in our lives. My family prayed for 15 years before we saw a loved one delivered from drug habit. And I have to say, at that place were times when I merely laid on the floor and let my tears do the talking. I needed trusted friends to pray when I could not. Together we fought the battle and won!
6. Observe peace in surrendering to God's will.
When nosotros feel similar nosotros are running on spiritual fumes, and our spiritual life is beginning to sputter, it may be time to give in, not up. Sometimes we are so determined to win the battle we're facing that nosotros forget to ask God if we are praying in his volition. Paul gives united states a great instance of this kind of spiritual surrender to God's plan in 2 Corinthians 12:half dozen-eight. 3 times he prayed about a "thorn in the flesh" that bothered him. God eventually answered, proverb that his grace "is sufficient," and this weakness stayed with the apostle. It brought him to a bespeak of recognizing that God's power works through our weaknesses. I take to confess that there accept been times when I realized that while I was waiting for God to reply my prayers, he was waiting for me to "give in" to his will.
7. Worship God.
Finally, I volition end with the best medicine I know to combat intercession fatigue: Rejoice in the Lord, ever. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians four:4, NIV). The journey is just every bit important every bit what nosotros're praying for, so while nosotros wait, we should praise God for who he is and all the good things he has, is, and will do.
Pray with united states for World Vision's work around the globe.
Marilee Pierce Dunker travels the world as an ambassador for Globe Vision, the organisation her father, Bob Pierce, founded in 1950. Like he did, she shares stories, pictures, and personal reflections, begetting witness to the extraordinary means God is using his people to share the gospel and intendance for the poor.
Visit World Vision's Speakers Agency site to asking Marilee or another Globe Vision speaker to present at your upcoming event.
Source: https://www.worldvision.org/christian-faith-news-stories/dont-give-up-your-miracle-how-to-pray-when-tired
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