A great beginning to recognizing our need to pray is HUMILITY and HOPE. We must approach the feet of The Father with an accurate view of self and of Him. He is Lord, and we are the sheep of His pasture (Ps 100). He is strong, and we are feeble. He is all powerful and eternal, while we are finite. Every part of who God is, in light of who we know ourselves to be, demands us to cower to His magnitude. It is a humble heart God seeks (Ps 51). And as we lift our head from lowly places to see his might, we can rejoice that such a power is for us and not against us. “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 41:31). The great God of the universe has created you, not to watch you from afar as you stagger and stumble your way through life, but to care for you as one of his beloved sheep. He stoops down to guide, heal, nourish, protect, and when necessary, discipline. We pray from a posture of humility and hope.
Here are some points to remember as we practice turning upward instead of inward:
You are not strong
A man’s strength is weakness to God, just as the wisdom of men is to Him foolishness. No matter how hard you try, some things in life cannot be fixed by human hands. But we serve a God who majors in the impossible, a God of power and wonders. He is also a Father who cares for us and wants us to ask Him for help. Going to His feet should be our first tool in the toolbox.
You are not abandoned
It’s hard to see anything while you’re at the bottom of the pit. It’s hard to see God’s care and provision while you’re still trying to make sense of why He would allow something so hard to happen to you. I think often that there’s no account of Job being filled in by God about why He allowed Satan to destroy his life. We cannot see the big picture, and we might never see it. But we know God is trustworthy, and we know he is working out all circumstances for our ultimate good. Go to God with your doubts, with your pain, with your brokenness, and ask for help to trust.
You are not independent
Whether or not you are more introverted by nature, you are not a loner in the kingdom of God. You are one body part made up of many (1 Cor 12). We are made to thrive in community, and God does some of his best work when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable with our brothers and sisters. As such, you should pray for your spiritual family and open up to your spiritual family so they can pray for you.
You are not invincible
The pandemic has brought about many thoughts and many lessons, one of which being the fragility of human life. Even without that reminder, if you live long enough, you face the idea of your mortality eventually. It shows how little control and power over our own lives we actually have. Then the only appropriate response is to cry out to God “Lord keep us by your mighty hand!”
You are not unworthy
Sometimes we feel like we don’t deserve to go to God with our burdens because of our sin, others’ sin against us, or our past… but Jesus has taken all that on himself and has given you the right and the joy to go before the Father, to enter into the Holy of Holy’s. You are a child of God. Step into your inheritance.
“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” (1 Chron 16:11)
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