A Prayer for Difficult Times

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
    and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
    and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
    and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
    I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
    He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
    able to tread upon the heights.”

Habakkuk 3:17-19

We started off this week with a challenge; a challenge for each of us to choose 1 person that we know is in need of prayer and to commit to faithfully praying for that person each day this month.

How are we doing?  I encourage you, even if you have missed a few days, to pray again for that friend, neighbor, or family member.  Continue to lift that person up to God with whatever need they have.  And trust that God hears you and is working on behalf of that person, even if it isn’t readily visible to you right now.

The above prayer is a tough one.  Written by the prophet, Habakkuk (last part of the Old Testament,) it is a prayer of praise even though things are going really bad.  It is a prayer of faith, that he still believed in God even though he wasn’t seeing Him.  It is a prayer that says, “Even if You don’t answer me, You are still my God and I will praise You.”

It is my hope that I will one day have the spiritual maturity to respond to life and my Savior this way.  If you are praying a friend through a hard time, please consider adding this to your requests.  That your friend, regardless of circumstances or outcome, will still have that relationship with God that allows him to say, “I still praise You.”  It is a gift of peace in the midst of the storm, and a mighty blessing to the heart of anyone struggling.  Because, as anyone will tell you in the midst of the storm, the most important thing to have is an anchor.

I am including a link today to a song that has gotten me through some incredibly hard seasons in my life.  It kept me focused and hopeful, even though I couldn’t see past what was going on around me.  I hope you are blessed by the lyrics.