How to Pray Your Way Through a Trial and Stress

Job 5:7 gives an interesting picture of that fact: "Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly

upward" (NIV). Jesus made the same truth abundantly clear: "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33).

Ironically, moments of crisis bring a remarkably clear understanding of the realities of life. In a crisis our eyes are opened in a fresh way:

We understand just how needy we are.

We understand that life is too big for us to carry and that we need God's help.

We feel the weightiness of each moment, and we seek the Lord more urgently than when everything is going well.

The pain and pressure of a crisis will, inevitably, bring us to a crossroads. From the Latin word crux, a crossroads is a place of decision. Indecision is, in itself, a decision. We must respond decisively to a crisis, and, all too often, life-changing decisions must be made on the run.

David wrote, "When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path" (Psalm 142:3, NASB). We will find that God has anticipated the crossroads that we face, and He has already charted our courses ahead of us.

When you and I come to that crux, where do we start? How do we pray in such times? We must remember that, although we do not know how long our difficulties will last, God does. We may feel lost and confused, but God is not.

Sometimes we imagine that God only listens to us when we pray "on target," or somehow connect the dots and follow the right formula. Not so—God listens to our hearts. When we grope our way through the fog and the pain of circumstances, the Father's heart is open to us. God will be patient as we call out to Him and seek His wisdom.

When we come to the crux of life, no matter how deeply the crisis wounds, no matter how darkness, pain or fear obscures our view, we never have to wonder if God is aware, and fully able to guide our steps. He has never lost His way, and He will not let us lose ours.

How You Can Pray

Are you or someone you know going through a crisis right now? Take time to lift up any fears to the Lord, and ask Him to bring wisdom and clarity. Then thank Him for His promise to never leave us nor forsake us.