There’s no Shame in praying Desperate Prayers in Desperate Times!

24 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 3:4.       I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill (mountain). Selah.

Oh friends, what a beautiful lazy-day Saturday this is turning out to be! Sunny and cool, with just the right amount of laziness attached to it. (smile) And I did take some advantage of the situation by lying in bed a little longer than usual. But it’s now time to get the Lord’s work going, and we’ll do that by offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with heartfelt sincerity. 

As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’  And we know that a positive answer will soon be forthcoming because our God just LOVES those kinds of prayers that cry out for His awesome presence in our lives! 

Now, let’s continue looking at some desperate prayers from men of great faith, beginning with Bruh David, who had numerous prayers of desperation, as can be seen in his psalms while he ran from king Saul who desired to take his life. Listen to this excerpt from Psalm 143 – A Prayer for Guidance and Deliverance. 

‘Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. and enter not into judgement with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified (righteous). For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten (crushed) my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness (dark places), as those that have been long dead. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse (ponder) on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land.’ (Ps. 143:1-6) 

And that’s only the tip of the iceberg, for Bruh David had numerous foes in his lifetime. Hear this prayer of desperation from Psalm 3, when he fled from the rebellion of his son Absolom. ‘Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for (around) me; my glory, and the lifter up of (the one who lifts up) my head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill (mountain). Selah. 

I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten (struck down) all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken  the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.’ (Ps. 3:1-8) 

Please note that although Bruh David cried in desperation to the Lord for help, he never stopped believing and always acknowledged God’s power, goodness and mercy. And Bruh David wasn’t the only king to cry out in desperation to God, King Hezekiah did it too. First when the Assyrian army threatened to destroy Israel unless they paid tribute. 

The Bible tells us: ‘And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, ‘O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. 

Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore thy have destroyed them. Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.’ (2 Kin. 19:14-19) 

Yes friends, the first place Hezekiah went was to the Lord. And I like how he laid out the letter before Him. And we know the outcome. After sending reassurances to Hezekiah by the prophet Isaiah, (2 Kin. 19:20 34) the Lord showed up in all power and might. The Good Book says: ‘And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote (killed) in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they (the Israelites) arose early in the morning, behold, they (the Assyrians) were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.’ (2 Kin. 19:35-36) 

But that wasn’t the end of Hezekiah’s woes though. The Bible says: ‘In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he (Hezekiah) turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. and Hezekiah wept sore (bitterly). 

And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city (Jerusalem) for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he (Hezekiah) recovered.’ (2 Kin. 20:1-7) 

Yes my fellow beleivers, many men of great faith endured desperate times and were forced to pray desperate prayers, men like Elijah, Jonah, Jacob, Job, Abraham, Bruh Joseph and Bruh Paul. So it’s quite okay to cry out to God in desperate times, and if you have a heart for Him, He will hear you and act on your behalf! Much LOVE!

…there’s no disgrace in desperately crying out to God…in desperate times…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 December 2012 Psalm 118:8

12 Dec 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 118:8.     It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.
 
Oh Friends, like so many of our other pseudo sciences, our weather forecasting is taking a turn for the worse. That’s possibly because of the abnormal, the changing weather patterns we’re currently experiencing. And I bring this up because yesterday’s forecast for my area was supposed to be sunny and bright. However, shortly after 8 a.m, I went outside to put out the garbage, and lo and behold wasn’t greeted by bright sunshine, but by wet snow! Hn! And though the wet snow didn’t last long, the day was never sunny and bright, but remained cloudy throughout. Unfortunately, so it is with many of our other man made devices and proclamations; they’ve become untrustworthy despite the surge in technological innovation and human intelligence. What a bam-bam! So what do we do now? What choices do we have besides man and the machines he’s created? Only ONE option is left to us Friends, and interestingly enough, the most sensible option at that. Like our Bit advises: ‘It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.’ And all God’s children declared a loud and hearty, ‘Amen!’ Yes my people, the ONLY thing, being, machine or otherwise that we can wholeheartedly trust is the ONE who created us, still cares for us a whole bunch, and also LOVES us unconditionally; that’s Jehovah God! Hear how Bruh David proclaims it in his song of deliverance from the hand of all his enemies, especially his nemesis, King Saul. ‘And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn (strength) of my salvation, my high tower (stronghold), and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.’ (2 Sam.2:2-4) He declares basically the same thing in Psalm 18, but begins it differently: ‘I will LOVE thee, O Lord, my strength.’ (Ps.18:1) Oh my brethren, where else can we get that supernatural strength, trust and wisdom we so desperately need in this ungodly, evil world, but from our Creator? Nowhere else my brethren! The prophet Micah declares our problem today so accurately, that it’s as though he is actually living in these, rough and cruel end times. In his insightful wisdom, he says: ‘Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide (companion), keep (guard) the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.’ (Mic.7:5-6) And isn’t that the gospel truth Friends? It sure is, because the trust and LOVE that was originally found in families, has now deteriorated to its lowest level ever. The family is no longer the backbone of society. In fact our society no longer has a backbone, that’s why it’s so wishy washy, so unreliable, swinging from one end of the pendulum to the other, without any sense of balance or stability, and thus is not worthy to be trusted like it used to be. And just as Micah declared our problem from way back when, he also gave us the solution, from way back then. It’s so simple and obvious Friends, that the complicated minds of men can’t seem to fathom it. ‘Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.’ (Mic.7:7-8) Yes my fellow believers, in these cruel, tough and thankless times, that’s where we should all be putting our trust and confidence; in Almighty God and not in man and his worldly idols. Isaiah said the same thing when talking about deliverance foreshadowed: ‘And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.’ (Is.8:17) What’s wrong with our brains today eh Friends? Why are we so against Jehovah God, the only positive and stalwart Being in the universe, the ONE whose blessings we’ve enjoyed from ages past when we’ve walked in the light of His salvation? And on the other side of the ledger, in times of disobedience, like now, when we’ve suffered His stinging correction, which eventually brought us back to our senses, and back to His wonderful, safe and LOVING fold. Oh my people, what else can I say to make us understand that this is one of the most critical and crucial times in the history of man. It’s a time when we desperately need to turn away from our own devices, as well as the evil, lustful, worldly idols and ways of Lucifer, and return to serving and worshipping, in reverence and faith, the ONE TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That’s the only solution to preventing our world from both imploding and exploding in the near future, which it will surely do, if we keep following our own devices and the evil ways that Lucifer seeks to put in our hearts. Let’s therefore be wise and stand faithful and strong in Jesus against the physical and spiritual wickedness of the world nuh Friends. As Bruh David unashamedly and confidently declares in Psalm 34, the Lord hears the righteous: ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear (revere) the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want (lack, need) to them that fear (revere) him.’ (Ps.18:8-9) That’s undeniable truth and wisdom Friends! So please, let’s take it to heart TODAY, RIGHT NOW, and leave all our evil, selfish ways behind, putting all our hope, trust, faith and belief in Jesus, who selflessly saved us from eternal death; the Holy Spirit, which leads and guides in all wisdom and truth; and the Father, who dearly LOVES and cares for us, because He is indeed our FATHER, our Creator. Much LOVE!…why foolishly hold on to something that’s not working…that’s constantly dragging you down… when there’s something else that’s been proven to work…and is continually uplifting and encouraging…  P.S. Sorry the Bit’s been a tad late the last couple days Friends, but it seems like I’ve contacted the Duchess’ cold, or one of my own, and it’s been playing havoc with my schedule. But don’t worry, it’s not going to stop the Lord’s Word from being noised abroad though. (smile) Much LOVE!