Does It Really Do Any Good To Pray!
part 2 in a series on prayer
By Patsy Norwood ~ ©
2001-2016 ~ All Rights Reserved.
This is the heartfelt question that one who is 'prayer weary' often asks. In moments of weakness and feelings of hopelessness/despair; when we have prayed and prayed over a situation in which nothing seems to be happening, it is easy to become discouraged and ask the question, does it really do any good to pray? Hold on dear sisters, God knew there would be times like this for His children and as any good Father does, He has some words of wisdom for us. These words are found in the book of Job and I call them God’s ‘reminder course.’
Before we turn to the book of Job and look at God's reminder course though we need to do something else, we need recognize that if we are feeling this way Satan has just scored a small victory in our lives. Satan is the father of hopelessness/despair and this is where he will keep us if he can. I don't know about you, but if Satan wants me in despair with a feeling of hopelessness then that is reason enough for me not to want to be there. These feelings, left unchecked, can turn into sin, which is what Satan wants. The sin is not in having these feelings, everyone deals with these emotions at some point in their lives, but the sin comes in how we deal with them, which brings up another point, how do we deal with these feelings?
In dealing with any situation, emotions included, there has to be a starting place, and, in my opinion, the starting place is to have a heart to heart talk with God. If we are angry we need to tell Him, we need to pour out our hopeless feelings and despair to Him. There’s no need to hold back, He already knows what we are feeling anyway (Isn’t it great to know that we can go to God with everything ... including our feelings?). There have been times when I have had to humbly say to God, “this is the way I feel; I don’t want to feel this way, but I do, please help me.” This is a good place for me to stop and interject something, when we ask God for help let us be careful that we do not dictate to Him the way in which we will allow His help to come to us. Going for a walk, talking to a friend, in some cases seeking medical help, or just plain activity may be what we need. The point is, God is all powerful and there is no limit to the sources from which His help can come. Now, back to having a heart to heart talk with our Father, for me admitting my ‘inability’ to God is the first step in acknowledging my dependence upon Him and then and only then am I in a position to be helped by Him. As I said, for me this is the starting place.
Okay ladies, it’s time to take a look at God’s ‘reminder course’ that I mentioned earlier. In the book of Job, Job in the midst of his many afflictions and full of despair talks to God (Job’s despair is evident throughout the book.). God, after hearing what Job has to say, has something to say to Job (chapters 38-42). This is what I call God’s ‘reminder course.’ He reminds him that He is, was, and will always be. He reminds him that He is the creator of all that is and that he (Job) need not question His plans (at some point in all of our lives we need these reminders). After God has put Job through His reminder course and Job has repented, God has one more reminder for him. God reminds Job (by His actions) that the faithful will be rewarded (Job 42:10 - 17) ... the faithful will be rewarded, what a hope lifting thought!
Does it really do any good to pray? Yes, it does! God’s answers may not be the ones we want and they may not come when we want them, but it is evident by God’s talk with Job that we are not to question His plans. Our job is to remain faithful regardless of how or when our prayers are answered and to remember that God sees the whole picture, while we only see in part.
This is the heartfelt question that one who is 'prayer weary' often asks. In moments of weakness and feelings of hopelessness/despair; when we have prayed and prayed over a situation in which nothing seems to be happening, it is easy to become discouraged and ask the question, does it really do any good to pray? Hold on dear sisters, God knew there would be times like this for His children and as any good Father does, He has some words of wisdom for us. These words are found in the book of Job and I call them God’s ‘reminder course.’
Before we turn to the book of Job and look at God's reminder course though we need to do something else, we need recognize that if we are feeling this way Satan has just scored a small victory in our lives. Satan is the father of hopelessness/despair and this is where he will keep us if he can. I don't know about you, but if Satan wants me in despair with a feeling of hopelessness then that is reason enough for me not to want to be there. These feelings, left unchecked, can turn into sin, which is what Satan wants. The sin is not in having these feelings, everyone deals with these emotions at some point in their lives, but the sin comes in how we deal with them, which brings up another point, how do we deal with these feelings?
In dealing with any situation, emotions included, there has to be a starting place, and, in my opinion, the starting place is to have a heart to heart talk with God. If we are angry we need to tell Him, we need to pour out our hopeless feelings and despair to Him. There’s no need to hold back, He already knows what we are feeling anyway (Isn’t it great to know that we can go to God with everything ... including our feelings?). There have been times when I have had to humbly say to God, “this is the way I feel; I don’t want to feel this way, but I do, please help me.” This is a good place for me to stop and interject something, when we ask God for help let us be careful that we do not dictate to Him the way in which we will allow His help to come to us. Going for a walk, talking to a friend, in some cases seeking medical help, or just plain activity may be what we need. The point is, God is all powerful and there is no limit to the sources from which His help can come. Now, back to having a heart to heart talk with our Father, for me admitting my ‘inability’ to God is the first step in acknowledging my dependence upon Him and then and only then am I in a position to be helped by Him. As I said, for me this is the starting place.
Okay ladies, it’s time to take a look at God’s ‘reminder course’ that I mentioned earlier. In the book of Job, Job in the midst of his many afflictions and full of despair talks to God (Job’s despair is evident throughout the book.). God, after hearing what Job has to say, has something to say to Job (chapters 38-42). This is what I call God’s ‘reminder course.’ He reminds him that He is, was, and will always be. He reminds him that He is the creator of all that is and that he (Job) need not question His plans (at some point in all of our lives we need these reminders). After God has put Job through His reminder course and Job has repented, God has one more reminder for him. God reminds Job (by His actions) that the faithful will be rewarded (Job 42:10 - 17) ... the faithful will be rewarded, what a hope lifting thought!
Does it really do any good to pray? Yes, it does! God’s answers may not be the ones we want and they may not come when we want them, but it is evident by God’s talk with Job that we are not to question His plans. Our job is to remain faithful regardless of how or when our prayers are answered and to remember that God sees the whole picture, while we only see in part.
patsy
She Hath Done What She Could
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