Young People's Group

LEARNING TO PRAY IN THE MIDST OF CHALLENGING TIMES

by Pastor Mitch
September 15, 2013

When The Going Gets Tough

What do we do when the going gets tough and stressful in life and in ministry? It is common for us to have initial negative reactions. The Psalmist had such wrong responses when he had to face difficult circumstances. There was a problem of having a complaining spirit within him. He allowed himself to complain to others and felt a deep sense of agitation (Psalm 55:2). He also had severe pain in his heart because he felt a sense of fearfulness (Psalm 55:4-5). His own close friend had betrayed him and went against him (Psalm 55:13). He was deeply affected by this. This was indeed a most difficult situation for him to go through. The Psalmist felt like flying away like a dove (Psalm 55:6). His emotions were going hay-wire and he really wanted to wander away and escape from his problems. When we face challenging situations of life, there is a tendency to feel like running away from our problems. This is not the answer. Exercising faith was what David sought to do next. Exercising our faith in God is how we should respond as we face challenges in life.

David Exercising Faith In Prayer In The Midst Of Overwhelming Difficulties

David had a further response to the overwhelming problems of life. His initial response was not very good. His subsequent response was much better. His response was one of faith.

1. Learning To Call Upon The Lord Confidently

“As for me, I will call upon God, 
And the Lord shall save me. 
Evening and morning and at noon 
I will pray, and cry aloud, 
And He shall hear my voice.” 
Psalm 55:16

David exercised faith believing in the efficacy of prayer. He believed that when he called upon the Lord, He would hear him and deliver him. He would hear as always because it is the nature of God to hear prayers. The Lord God is an eternal self-existing God who was there from the beginning of time (Psalm 55:19). He has been hearing prayers since man was put on earth and He continues to do so. As such, the Psalmist was determined to call upon the Lord three times a day. The Psalmist would pray in the evening and continue in the morning and at noon. There was a deep confidence in exercise faith in prayer. Young people, let’s also seek to exercise faith even as we pray to the Lord.

2. Learning To Cast Everything To God Humbly

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

As we pray, we are to also cast our worries and burdens on to the Lord. Our almighty God wants to carry our burdens for us. He knows how weighed down we could be with our problems. We must learn to cast them on the Lord and He will specially sustain us. With the Lord strengthening and sustaining us, He will cause us to be unmovable. God will never fail the righteous man who seeks to let Him take over his worries.

3. Learning To Commit Our Trust In God After Praying

“But I will trust in You.” 
Psalm 55:23

After we have consistently prayed and have entrusted to the Lord our burdens, our challenge is to trust in Him. Prayer is never just about the practice of praying in itself. There is also a post prayer aspect where we must learn to trust God. After the Psalmist had seen how God was there for Him as He exercised faith in God in prayer, there came trust in Him. The Lord had redeemed his soul in peace from the war that was against him (Psalm 55:18). As we pray in the midst of the problems of life and we see the Lord hearing our prayers, let’s learn to trust in the Lord even more.

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