Crying Out To God

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Psalm 6:9 God Hears Your Prayers

The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer. Psalm 6:9

There are times when a person calls someone, and the other person never answers so a message is left, but there does not appear to be any response or return call. Or they leave a message at an office desk for the head boss but get no return message. Anytime a person leaves a message, in any form, for someone, they expect a response. With no response, they wonder if the person ever got that message. It often feels as if one is speaking to the air.

After crying out to God for help, David recognizes that God has heard and received his prayers.

Every day there are people who are crying out to God for help in some area of their life. It may be for themselves or for someone else. As the cry out for that help, it is common that many feel as if God does not hear their prayers because nothing appears to happen or change.

Some give up on prayer and God in times like this, because they feel that God does not care. They forget that God does hear everyone’s prayers. They also forget that God works all things out in His timing and way.

When the believer prays, one must pray in faith believing that God does hear those prayers. One must release the problem or situation into God’s hands and into His timing and way of dealing with it, knowing that God knows what is best.

The world would be in a greater chaos than it already is if God were to work on every individual’s timetable or ways of doing things. Only God can hear all those prayers and coordinate the perfect working of every situation.

As you spend time in prayer to God, there may be times when He appears to be silent and does not immediately respond to your prayers. Do not be discouraged or upset that God does not immediately do something in your life, but trust that He has heard your prayers and is working on it.

Allow God to move in the best way possible for your life and His purpose for that situation. Do not allow doubt creep into your mind that God has not heard or does not care about you. He loves you with an everlasting, perfect love and has heard you.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will continue offer up prayers in faith to God; that you will know that God has heard your prayers; and that you will trust God’s answer and timing to your prayers.

Picture by Rachel Cook under Unsplash

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Job 3:25 When Disaster Strikes Hard

For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. Job 3:25

Disaster is something that no one really looks forward to ever having to go through. Fears of what may occur often are the nightmares people dream about. Imaginations run rampant in what may occur and how things could go horribly wrong.

Going through a major disaster in life can be wearying and weigh a person down. Often when the disaster does occur, many people felt as if that was what they expected with their bad luck.

After Job was struck physically hard in many ways, Job was depressed and stated that what he had feared coming actually came upon him.

No one is completely immune from having a disaster come upon them. At some point in everyone’s life there is some type of major disaster that occurs. It may directly on the individual alone or it may be upon those one loves or cares about. Either way it is painful and often the substance of their fears and nightmares.

The majority of the world closes down and quits out of the pain and suffering. They turn to drugs and other things to help cope with the pain and horror of the situation. Many will even turn to suicide to end it all.

Believers are not immune to suffering. In fact, Jesus promised that there would be trouble in this life.

Fear and dread may come upon the believer when it first occurs, but one needs to stop and look up to God. Jesus and the Father will never leave the believer. He can give strength and peace in the center of the disaster. Trusting in God will remove all fear, though the pain may still remain.

There may have been a time when some great disaster has occurred in your life. If not, there will most likely come that day of major disaster.

Do not allow that disaster to destroy your spirit and turn you away from God. Do not go the way the world does.

When that disaster does occur take time to stop and look to God for strength and comfort. Cry out to God for His comfort and strength to make it through the difficult time in your life. Allow His Holy Spirit to fill you with His peace, knowing that God is in control and is right by your side through it all.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will know God’s peace, strength and presence in times of trouble; that you will turn to God in a disaster; that you will trust God in every situation; and that you will not fear what God allows in your life.

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1 Chronicles 5:20 Crying Out And Trusting God

They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. 1 Chronicles 5:20

During a difficult battle in life people are quick to cry out for help. Most often this help that they are crying out for is from other people, organizations or the government. Other times is it seeking help in alcohol or other drugs to help them cope with their difficult situations occurring in their life.

Several tribes of Israel went to war against the Hagrites and their allies. God delivered them because they called out to God during the battle, and He heard them and answered them because they trusted in him.

The world is quick to seek help from others in this world. Their focus is always on the surface of things and in the temporary fix, rather than the long-term fix of what is actually occurring. Many of their sources can help some, but it is often just for a very short amount of time.

Throughout the church many believers will also cry out for help in the same way. They have either not seen God do a great work in their life or they just plain do not trust God to do a great work in their life.

Instead of crying out for help from the world, believers should be so focused upon God and His word, that He is the first One they turn to for help. Knowing God’s word will help one to know what God has done, can do and His promises of what He will do.

This will build one’s faith to first cry out to God for help in times of trouble and have faith in Him.

At some point you will have a difficulty in your life that is greater than you can handle on your own. It may be tempting to run to family, friends or others for the needed help first.

Make God the one you cry out to first. He is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred sixty-five days a year anywhere in the world for you call.

Then believe God. Believe that He can and will help you in the best way for you and your situation. That is faith in God. And you can win the battle.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will first seek God for any help you need; that you will know God’s promises to you; and that you will trust God to help you in your time of battle.

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Exodus 9:24 Will You Harden Your Heart Again?

When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. Exodus 9:24

During times that are disastrous or difficult, people will claim that they will do nearly anything and everything just to get out of the hard times. Promises will be made to clear the path out of danger.

Yet, when the danger or disaster is over, the promises are forgotten, and their hearts are hardened. They go back to what was done before, which may have brought on the danger in the first place.

God had poured down hail and rain upon the Egyptians, causing much damage, due to Pharaoh refusing to let the Israelites go. He ‘repented’ of his sin, but as soon as it stopped hailing, he hardened his heart and sinned again, not letting the Israelites go.

Believers often know what God requires of them and His commands, but do not want to obey them, wanting to do their own thing. Choosing to follow the ways of the world, many will live in sin, rather than truly following God, though claiming to believe in God.

This is something that continues until there is some great disaster or trouble in their lives. Immediately upon getting hit by trouble, many will cry out to God, promising to obey Him and do what He says to do, if He will remove the trouble. As soon as the trouble is over, they forget their promise and step back into their sin again.

Acting in this way is treading upon the grace of God and treating it with contempt. It is ignoring the lengths to which Jesus went to remove the sin and meet one’s needs.

True believers will hold to their word and flee all sin, obeying God with their whole lives. They will not allow their hearts to be hardened again.

Throughout your life there will be times of trouble and hardships. These times can and will be extremely difficult.

As you cry out to God for help, remember your prayers and promises to God. He is there to help you, but His first goal is to get you away from all sin, not to make a way for you to sin more.

Do not allow your heart to be hardened and continue in sin against God. Have a softened heart that follows after God, not sin.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will know God’s hand at work in your life; that you will call out to God in times of trouble; that God will strengthen you to not harden your heart; and that you will obey God and flee all sin.

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Psalm 77:2 Seeking God

Looking for God

When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted. Psalm 77:2 

When a person wants something badly enough, he will go to extreme lengths to get it. It is common to see people working eighty to ninety hour work weeks striving to get a large income, in order to have a large house, fancy car, large retirement, or some other thing. They will punish themselves with grueling hours to get what they want.

There are many other things that people work hard to get. They will not sleep at night trying to get what they want as soon as possible. Nothing can discourage them from going after their goals or desires.

Asaph talks about a time when he was under a lot of stress. He began to cry out to God for help throughout the night. He did not get tired and quit, but kept at it, until he would hear from God and receive the desired help.

Every believer has times in his life in which it is very stressful and difficult. It is during those times that he must cry out to God for help.

While many will cry out to God for help, for most they will not continue to cry out. They will seek God for a moment for some help, but when He does not immediately answer, they look to someone or something else for help. They give up on hearing God, thinking that He did not hear or does not care about them. Both thoughts are wrong.

Seeking God should be a believer’s highest priority in this life. Whether it is in a struggle or for direction, seeking God is needed. One should not get tired of seeking God, but keep going no matter what it takes or how long it takes.

In your life, there will be times where you have some great struggles and need God’s help. Take time to seek Him for answers. Don’t make that time of seeking Him just a few minutes, but dig down deep and seek Him with everything that is within you.

Be willing to put everything temporary in this life aside until you hear from God. However, be willing to listen and accept His answer to you when He speaks.

God is waiting for you to call on Him. He is also waiting to comfort you in your time of trouble. Seek Him today and don’t give up..

I pray today that you will have a heart to seek God; that you will give all you have to hear from God; that you will put aside this world to hear from God; and that you will hear what God has to say.