Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Prayers of the brokenhearted

Sometimes I have to remember that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. Not that I'm righteous in all my actions but that I've been made righteous through Christ. Christ died and his blood has cleansed me, made me right with God. Because of this righteousness, I can trust in the scriptures that tell me that God is with me, He hears my prayers and He's attentive to my cry.

Why is this important to me? Because I, like you, tend to get weighed down with burdens and troubles that come my way. When I'm worn out, when I'm feeling the heavy weight of burdens that crush my spirit, God knows what I need. He hears my cry's and He will deliver me from my troubles. Isn't that good news?

Psalm 34:15-18 says...
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

So take comfort in your times of trouble. Have the peace that can only come from knowing that God is with you always. He hears your crying. He knows the pain you are going through and he promises to deliver you from this affliction. It's tough to stay the course and keep step in our faith, but as those times of weakness overcome us, we can know that a crushed spirit or a broken heart can be restored by the Lord.

I think it's important to remember this one important note... This verse says "the righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them." I reminded of when Peter was told to walk out on the water to Jesus... Peter took off and started walking on the water, but as he walked he became afraid. The violent storm around him, the waves and the wind, all had an affect on him. He became afraid and this took his eyes off of the Lord and he began to sink. He suddenly cried out... Jesus, save me! Then Jesus reaches out with his hand and grabs hold of him and lifts him up so he is no longer sinking.
You see it's important to always realize that we must cry out! Forget your pride, forget about the mess you got yourself into, just know that when you cry out for help, that's when you get it! I often wonder if Jesus would have just let Peter sink and swim if he hadn't cried out to Jesus to save him? Sometimes I wonder if that's why I struggle so often? Maybe, just maybe, I'm not crying out for the Lord to help me. Sure, I'm broken hearted, sure I know Jesus can deliver me from my troubles, but have I really cried out. After reading these verses I know the Lord is close, he's waiting for me to cry out, so he can deliver me.

Whens the last time you cried out to the Lord? I believe when we get to the point of crying out, well, we've finally given up on our own abilities and our own strengths and finally surrender ourselves over to his will. When we submit our selves and cry out, this is when the Lord grabs hold of us and lifts us out of the storm we are in. What an awesome God we serve! May we always be mindful of his help in our time of trouble and then remember to cry out to the Lord to deliver us.

Psalm 50:15
Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am doing research for my university thesis, thanks for your excellent points, now I am acting on a sudden impulse.

- Laura