GO TO GOD IN PRAYER!

SCRIPTURE

Psalm 88 (NRSV)

Prayer for restoration

O Lord, God of my salvation,
when, at night, I cry out in your presence,
let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry.

For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;
I am like those who have no help,
like those forsaken among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
You have put me in the depths of the Pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves.
Selah

You have caused my companions to shun me;
you have made me a thing of horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call on you, O Lord;
I spread out my hands to you.
Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the shades rise up to praise you?
Selah
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?

But I, O Lord, cry out to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
O Lord, why do you cast me off?
Why do you hide your face from me?
Wretched and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am desperate.
Your wrath has swept over me;
your dread assaults destroy me.
They surround me like a flood all day long;
from all sides they close in on me.
You have caused friend and neighbor to shun me;
my companions are in darkness.

DEVOTION

I love prayers like this! There is nothing like keeping it real with God!

I think it is sad that some people live with the mistaken notion that we can’t be honest with God about our feelings. I’ve heard it said that we don’t want to offend or question God.

My dear friends, let’s think about this. First of all, God knows—and sees—all things. God knows when we are having a crisis of faith. God is with us when we are experiencing a dark night of the soul. God knows when we feel angry at God because of an unfortunate event in our lives. God knows when we are secretly blaming God for our misfortune. But, most of all, God knows that we are human, we see through a glass dimly and that we cannot possibly understand the ways and thoughts of God in relation to the activities of our lives.

God is not offended by our questions; God is the answer to all of our questions! Throughout the entire Bible, the people who were closest to God were those who dared to be honest with God in prayer—asking questions and voicing concerns.

Isn’t it grand that God loves us so much that God invites us to speak frankly and boldly in prayer? Isn’t it amazing that God cares for us so much that God is willing to listen to our joys, sorrows, triumphs, failures, and complaints?

Dear Ones, there is absolutely NO-thing that you can hide from God; nor should you even try! Since it impossible to trick God, it seems to me that it is in our best interest to tell the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help us God!

God is the only one who can give us wisdom when we do not understand something. God is the only one who can comfort us in times of grief and sorrow. God is the only one who can protect us against seen and unseen dangers and God is the only one who can help us to make sense of the many mysteries of life.

Sometimes, we will feel like God is not listening and does not care. Although we feel this way, it is not the truth of the matter! God has promised never to leave us, nor forsake us. God has promised to be with us always, even until the end of the age. God has invited us to cast all our cares upon God, for God cares for us!

This is the truth of the matter; Our God cares! This is the GOOD NEWS that I declare to us today!

Listen, God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life.

God loves us so much that we can’t out sin, out fox, or out run God’s great love for us revealed in Christ Jesus!

So, go ahead. Keep it real. Tell God the truth about your thoughts and feelings. Then get still and quiet and let Spirit minister love, truth, and healing into your situation.

Will you go to God in prayer today?

Holy One, thank you that I can be honest with you. There are so many others that I lie to every day. I say I am fine, when I am not. I say that I am happy, when I am sad. I say that I am looking forward to the future, when I am full of despair. Thank you, that you already know my truth and that you love me despite my doubts, fears, and anxieties. God, I come to you today, trusting that you are everything that I need. I love you and I know that you love me too! Please help me to share this Love with others! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations to all of those people who have recently put all of their hope in Jesus! Welcome to the Christian family! We love you and we are praying for you even now in Jesus’ Name!

If you would like to put all of your hope in Jesus today, please visit my blog entitled, “Putting All Your Hope In Jesus” located at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/putting-all-your-hope-in-jesus.html

If you have additional questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus"
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html

Pastor Yolanda is now publishing another blog entitled, “A Spoken WORD” in celebration of Holy Hip Hop, Gospel/Christian Rap and Spoken Word. Please check it out @ http://aspokenword.blogspot.com/

You are invited to follow Pastor Yolanda on Twitter www.twitter.com/PastorYolanda

Good News has now added a Prayer Ministry. http://www.kindlejoy.com/groups/goodnews

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From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com