Young People's Group

CULTIVATING OUR PRAYER LIFE

by Pastor Mitch
October 09, 2011

Thinking Of Fleeing From Overwhelming Situations?

When facing the windy storms of life, the thought to flee from them is always very tempting. This was something that King David grappled with when he was going through a stressful and hurtful predicament. In the text of Psalm 55, David was struggling with the oppression of his enemies. Furthermore, he found out that one of the plotters against him was a former close friend and advisor. His heart was deeply hurt by this betrayal. He felt great fear and wanted to fly away like a dove (Psalm 55:6). He wanted to wander off to remain in the wilderness (Psalm 55:7). If he had the chance, he would hasten to escape from the windy tempest that he was in (Psalm 55:8). David felt so overwhelmed by his dilemma that he considered running away from it. Young people, are you feeling overwhelmed by the stress and strain of life’s difficulties and you feel tempted to flee? Our challenge is not to take flight but to stay and fight. Our challenge is to pray.

The Challenge To Pray In A Deeper Way

How can we go about praying to God in a deeper way?

1. Personal Determination To Pray To God With Confidence

“As for me, I will call upon God,
And the Lord shall save me.” 
Psalm 55:16

Instead of running away, the Psalmist determined within his heart to pray. He chose to call upon the Lord God with a greater sense of confidence in prayer. Whatever challenges we may be going through, let’s not give up hope. Let’s pray instead. Let’s determine within our heart to pray and the Lord will definitely come to our rescue. Let’s be confident that our God will hear us when we pray.

2. Making Greater Effort To Pray Day After Day

“Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.” 
Psalm 55:17

The Psalmist did not just choose to pray with faith. He made greater efforts to pray to God by praying and crying out to Him. With faith in the power of prayer, the Psalmist prayed to God continually throughout the day. He cried out to God in the evening. And the next day, he got up to pray and to cry out to God again in the morning. At noon, he continued to plead with God. Let’s learn to make greater effort to pray to God throughout the day and every day.

3. Casting Our Burden On The Lord In Prayer

“Cast you burden on the Lord,
And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” 
Psalm 55:22

As we pray, let’s also consciously cast our burdens on the Lord. Let’s not carry the burdens of life on our own shoulders. The psalmist was able to encourage others to pray and to unload their burdens onto the Lord. His sustaining power would be made available to us. He will strengthen us and not allow us to be moved. Let’s learn to pray and cast all our burdens on Him. He will sustain us.

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