“Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry.” Psalm 88:2
Yesterday was the last official day of my phone fast and I had an interesting thing happen. A revelation that I would be amiss not to share it with you.
We’ve been refreshing our living room this month; a fresh coat of paint, and this weekend, a new floor. (A floor I’ve been dreaming of for YEARS.) Well, our house is tiny and we’ve got waaaay more stuff that we should, so with an entire room torn to bits and its contents relocated to wherever we could manage to fit them it hasn’t been a matter of one room being a mess and hard to use, it’s been the entire house.
As many of you other neat-freak moms out there have noticed, if the house is in chaos the family tends to get a little on the chaotic side as well. When there’s no room for people to walk past each other collisions and accidents and messes happen… a lot. And tempers begin to flare. By the end of day 2 of total house upheaval we had all reached a breaking point. We were tired, we were grumpy and we were squished together like sardines in a can, not pretty. Like poison this dreadfully negative attitude had spread through our happy home and Mommy, the peacemaker, had had it. I was so frustrated because I didn’t know what to do to fix it and make them all happy again. I didn’t know how to make this oppressive darkness that was pressing in on my family go away. And in my usual manner I reached for my phone to text my friends and ask for prayer. With thumbs poised and ready to tap out my S.O.S. it hit me, I didn’t need them to pray for me… I needed to pray!
I was the one in need of a moment of solitary stillness. I was the one who needed to be in His presence. I was the one who needed reassurance and a word of encouragement. Why tell my friends to pray for me when I was the one who needed the benefit of prayer the most!?! Me asking them to pray for me is like asking someone to go to the bathroom for you, it just doesn’t work that way! Now, don’t misunderstand me here, there is TREMENDOUS power in reaching out to others and praying together. However, if your plan A is to ask for prayers on your behalf without ever praying yourself, well, that’s just insanity. Prayer in itself is an answer to stressful situations.
When you’re up against a wall and you’re the one in need of prayer then your knees better be the ones on the ground first because sister because that’s where the help comes from; not the hills, not your friends, not even your church. Your help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2)
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”
For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place – the Most High, who is my refuge, no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.
For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him I will protect him, because he knows My name. When he calls to Me, I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. (Psalm 91)
Lord, humbly I come to Your throne. Not because someone else needs You, but because I need You. Please help me through this time of Fear and Doubt. Please help me to choose to path of Faith and Belief in Your word. Please hold my hand and help me to make the best choices and to do and say the best things. Lord, please help me to be a vessel of Your peace in this world of chaos and fear. LORD, please fill me up with the peace that comes from being in Your presence and KNOWING that I am dearly loved and divinely treasured by the creator of the universe. You are my King!
“I love YOU!”
Tamar Knochel 