A question- five simple words that will change your life.
So, did you?
Oh how I miss my friend, Sandy Knap. A prayer warrior, Sandy taught me how to “Be still.” She never allowed me to wallow in my sorrows long. When I would complain about something, her question to me would always be, “Did you pray about it?”
Of course not, worry and complaining are my go-to actions, and strangely enough my mind's way of seeking healing.
WHAT?!?!?
My mind says that these are human and “normal” reactions to a challenge. Of course worry allows you to think through the situation leading to a logical solution, right? And complaining, well that invites others to agree with you which makes you feel better . . .
REALLY???
What if that isn’t how we are designed? What if instead of trusting our minds we trust our hearts? What if instead of worry and complaining we stop and pray?
At this point of the convo, my friend would say that while my mind is thinking logically, that the answer actually lies in my heart. She knew that Jesus has my heart in His Hand and knows when I struggle and when I thrive. He knows when I worry and when I am confident. She would always point me to Him. Reminding me that He is ready for the challenge. So what should I do about it?
Pray
Prayer invites our Father into our situation. Just like the picture says, He is our rock and there is no challenge too small or too large for the Master. He knows our hearts, what we need and when we need it and He wants us to ask. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8. And in response to our request, we are given a promise: When we “lift up our requests to Him, the peace of God will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus” - Philippians 4:7.
When we lift up our requests to God, we are letting go of control over the situation and allowing Him to heal the worry that we allow to threaten us.
I know I know, “but this is so hard!” It is much easier to worry with something vs letting it go. Why is that? Why is it easier to worry?
Joyce Meyer uses the analogy of the rocking chair in “The Cause and Cure for Worry” - "Worry is like a rocking chair—it's always in motion but it never gets you anywhere. Worry is caused by not trusting God to take care of the various situations in our lives. Too often we trust our own abilities, believing that we can figure out how to take care of our own problems."
It all goes back to our mind seeking control and when we lose it . . . well the rocking chair starts a-rockin. . . My mind's logic would keep me rocking for days.
So, does this mean that I don’t have to do anything else but pray? Not at all, when Jesus told us to ask, seek and knock, He used a crucial phrase “the door will be opened.” There are times when we must ask and wait and then there are times we must ask and walk through the door, trusting Him as He walks alongside.
And sometimes, He places others in our life to walk alongside us, leading me to the next “should do.”
Allow others to Stand in the Gap for You
God gave us a great gift in those He placed in our lives. We aren’t meant to do life alone.
And we are never alone, even when we think we are, the Holy Spirit (our Helper) intercedes for us through wordless groans Romans 8:26.
But sometimes, we need others, and God knows this . . .
He knew this as He gave man a helper in the garden, “It is not good for the man to be alone” Genesis 2:18. The early church knew this, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” Acts 2:46.
Writing to the early Jewish Christians, James (the brother of Jesus) encouraged them to pray for one another. “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16 A beautiful gift, to “Stand in the Gap” for another, “My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins” James 5:19-20.
Asking a friend to stand in the gap and pray for us does three things.
1- Allows others to listen and encourage from an outside perspective,
2- Allows us to be strengthened by the faith of others,
3- Allows them to watch the Hand of God move in our lives.
And vice versa, when we stand in the gap for others, we are blessed just the same.
In contrast, I could complain, I might find agreement but the truth is, complaining would only increase my anxiety about my situation and encourage my worry. It is a vicious cycle.
So have you prayed about it? Invite Him into your challenge, He already knows your heart, you aren’t telling Him something He doesn’t already know. And Invite others to stand in the gap for you.
His Peace is yours.
Sandy, thank you so much for standing in the gap for me! I hear you, prayers going up!
Father, thank You for Your promise of Perfect Peace. Thank You that we don’t have to do life alone, that while we will face struggles that we have a Helper who will walk with us through the door and friends who will stand in the gap. We pray Lord for Your strength in our weakness, we pray for Your faith in our fear, we pray for Your courage in our faint-heartedness. Lord You have promised that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, we ask that You strengthen us in the things You have called us to. Please hear our prayer Lord and heal our land.
In Jesus’ Name
AMEN