40 Days of PRAYER - 09
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of PRAYER
Day 09 | PRAYING IN TIMES OF DISTRESS
40 Days of PRAYER
Day 09 | PRAYING IN TIMES OF DISTRESS
PRAYING IN TIMES OF DISTRESS
Psalm 18:4-6
“The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.” (NLT)
Psalm 18 is a LONG psalm, the fourth longest in the book. The background for this psalm is that David had been running from King Saul who sent his army to kill David. It’s hard to imagine how difficult that was… to run and hide from the powerful King and his minions. And yet, it happened. David ran and ran and prayed and prayed.
Clearly David feared for his life and felt death was a real possibility and was close at hand.
How do YOU handle extreme difficulties?
Essentially you have two choices: Run to GOD; or run your own way. Basically, you can choose God as your SOURCE or you can choose YOU as your source.
David was in distress. And here’s one reason why (even after all the awful sin David does down the road) God later said that David was a “man after my own heart.” Why? Because: “But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.”
And then what happened?
Well, you’ve got to read the “rest of the story” in Psalm 18, but here’s a little preview (verses 7-9):
“Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the mountains shook; they quaked because of his anger. Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him. He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.”
That’s what God does… He steps in and he changes the situation!
Prayer: LORD, I sometime forget how powerful you are. You made the universe, you are all powerful and yet, You loved us so much that you sent your Son Jesus. Thank you for that – and everything. Amen.
Psalm 18:4-6
“The ropes of death entangled me; floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.” (NLT)
Psalm 18 is a LONG psalm, the fourth longest in the book. The background for this psalm is that David had been running from King Saul who sent his army to kill David. It’s hard to imagine how difficult that was… to run and hide from the powerful King and his minions. And yet, it happened. David ran and ran and prayed and prayed.
Clearly David feared for his life and felt death was a real possibility and was close at hand.
How do YOU handle extreme difficulties?
Essentially you have two choices: Run to GOD; or run your own way. Basically, you can choose God as your SOURCE or you can choose YOU as your source.
David was in distress. And here’s one reason why (even after all the awful sin David does down the road) God later said that David was a “man after my own heart.” Why? Because: “But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.”
And then what happened?
Well, you’ve got to read the “rest of the story” in Psalm 18, but here’s a little preview (verses 7-9):
“Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the mountains shook; they quaked because of his anger. Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him. He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.”
That’s what God does… He steps in and he changes the situation!
Prayer: LORD, I sometime forget how powerful you are. You made the universe, you are all powerful and yet, You loved us so much that you sent your Son Jesus. Thank you for that – and everything. Amen.
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