This is the second installment in this series. You can view part 1 here and part 3 here
Jesus Christ showed us the importance of prayer and talking to God. He Himself talked to the Father and would go off on His own to talk to God and pray. At the Garden of Gethsemane He told the Father His desire to be released from the great responsibility of dying at the cross. He was in such sorrow that He told His Father His desire to be spared. If He didn’t tell God His pain, there wouldn’t have come an angel of comfort strengthening Him. He talked to God and found help. He was strengthened that He was able to go through the betrayal and the suffering at the cross.
“And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” {Luke 22:40-43}
The disciples knew the importance of prayer, and they asked the Lord Jesus to show them how to pray. That’s how we come to have the Lord’s Prayer today in {Luke 11:1-4} and {Matthew 6:9-13}. It’s important to engage Him, to talk to Him.
If talking to God is not important for making ourselves feel better, Jesus and the disciples and a host of many great men and women of God in the Bible (like Daniel and King David or Hannah, the mother of Prophet Samuel), wouldn’t have bothered to pray. Prayer is important. Talking to God is important. To feel better we have to tell God what’s bothering us. Not only that, we have to tell Him what we want for Him to do for us. Don’t just say, “Well, He knows what will make me feel better.” Sure, He does, but that doesn’t mean He’s guaranteed to give it to you. You have to ask. The Bible tells us,
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. {Matthew 7:8}
The Lord in the time of Blind Bartimaeus knew what Bartimaeus wanted, but Jesus still asked him. The Lord didn’t just give him what he needed, He actually asked Bartimaeus what it was he wanted. The man at the pool of Bethesda was bedridden for 38 years. The Lord knew that. But still the Lord asked him if he wanted to be made whole.
When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? {John 5:6}
So we shouldn’t assume just because the Lord knows what we need and want, that He will give it to us automatically without us asking for it first. Jesus tells us to ask. He told the disciples,
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. {John 16:24}
The next thing to do is to listen to the voice of God as we’re talking to Him. He will actually respond to us if we’re listening for Him and are desirous to know what He’s saying to us. He will speak. Either through a thought or a burst of desire in our heart we will know what He’s saying to us. Or perhaps we will get an impression in our mind, or better yet a still small voice in our spirit telling us what we needed to hear. It will be audible, in words that you can actually understand. He will respond. Prayer is not just a one-way street of us telling Him our desire or asking Him what we would like to have Him do for us. It’s a two-way street. It’s a relationship. It’s listening too, not just talking. This is very important to feeling better, because how else are we going to feel better if we don’t hear back from Him? If He doesn’t respond back to us and acknowledge us, then how do we know we’ve made a connection with Him? This is why so many people find prayer so exhilarating and so rewarding, because when He responds your world changes. Your circumstance turns around. Your mind is enlightened. You go through an experience with God that no one else can ever give to you except God. You are changed in an instant. Your heart lightens. Your mind lightens. And your world brightens up. There is nothing like it in the world when God appears to you and responds to you. But you have to wait for it. You have to make the effort to connect with Him and talk to Him.
Also part of listening is to acknowledge what He’s saying to us when we hear Him. If we see in our mind or hear in our spirit that He wants us to do something, do it. There could be a scene in your mind for example that embarrasses you to death whenever you see it, and right at that very moment it’s so real to you. That is Him asking for you to talk to Him about it. Whether it’s something you’ve done or said that you shouldn’t have, acknowledge Him by talking to Him about it and asking for Him to forgive you of that. If you do what He’s telling you to do, you will feel better.
Sometimes He will tell us to make reconciliation with our past, maybe by talking to a loved one we had spurned and stopped talking to. If you’re not sure it’s Him that’s placing these thoughts in your mind, ask Him. Ask Him, “Is this You, Lord? Are you telling me to do such and such?” And if you hear it again in your spirit or in your mind, and feel it in your heart that it’s Him, it is Him. Acknowledge Him and thank Him for it, because that is your answer to feeling better. Do what He commands you to do. If you’re having a hard time calling that former friend, or giving that money you’re saving for a rainy day to someone He’s telling you to give it to, ask Him to give you faith and help you to obey Him. He will help you. It’s so important to acknowledge Him and to let Him know that you hear Him talking to you. It’s also crucial for us to feel better by obeying what He tells us in our spirit to do. Otherwise, we will not feel better.
Prayer is not just talking to God out loud. I used to think that the only way to really pray was to talk to God out loud on my knees. I came to learn later on that talking to the Lord in my heart and in my soul or my mind was also prayer. As a matter of fact, there are times when you can’t even say the things you want to say to God because you are just too upset to even verbalize them to Him. At times like these I let my heart and my mind talk to Him. I could find myself weeping in sorrow, making supplications to Him that come from the very depths of my soul. Words just come short in times like that. This is the kind of prayer I call the Hannah prayer. Hannah was the mother of Prophet Samuel who was barren. Her husband had another wife who bore him children. This other wife tortured Hannah and made her feel bad about being barren. One day Hannah went to the temple and with her whole heart and soul prayed to the Lord to ask Him for a child. The Bible described it this way:
And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no rasor come upon his head. And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto. Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
So Hannah, prayed with her heart, whispering her prayers to the Lord and pouring her heart and soul to Him. Words weren’t enough. She couldn’t voice her sorrow out loud. She could only whisper them with her heart to the Lord. The Bible states that she was in bitterness of her soul and wept sore. Often times our hearts and mind can talk to God faster than our lips or mouths can carry words or voice them out loud. To me I feel like these kinds of prayers are even more powerful to God, because they are so full of emotions. God is an emotional God, and I find time and time again emotional prayers move God because He is such a merciful God, easily moved by grief and sorrow. The Bible tells us that God is full of compassion and of a great mercy. {Psalm 145:8} He responds to these kinds of prayers because they’re so heartfelt, and He very much hears them as loud as a preacher praying in front of a congregation before a microphone. God not only hears them, He can feel them and understand them fully too. The Bible tells us that the Lord granted Hannah’s heartfelt prayer and gave her a son who she named Samuel, who she offered to the Lord to minister to Him in the temple. Samuel became a high priest to the Lord after Eli in the time of King Saul and King David. He was the prophet that anointed both King Saul and King David, the first two kings to be the ruler of the people of God in the land of Israel. The Lord also gave Hannah three more sons after Samuel and two daughters. God took Hannah’s reproach away, and her adversary, the other wife could no longer rejoice over Hanna’s affliction. The Lord changed Hannah’s life and made it better because she trusted in the Lord and asked Him for help.
To be continued on the next blogpost…
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I thank You so much for Your faithfulness in Your love for me. I thank You that no matter what happens to me You will always be there. You will not ever leave me nor forsake me. I love You so much Lord Jesus.
Father, I pray Your continued grace and mercy upon my soul. I pray that You will help me to always bring my concerns and burdens to you and not wait until they’re overwhelming me. Please continue to lead me and guide me to Your truth so I can understand more and more who You are. Please Father give me faith in Your love for me. Help me to trust You and know You Jesus. Help me to know how to love You. Help me to wait on You so I will come to know when You are speaking to me. Help me to pray and talk to You everyday. Father, I pray in Your most wonderful and precious name, Jesus. Thank You, Father. Amen.
Related Blogpost: How To Feel Better When You’re Miserable {Part I}
Related Blogpost: How To Feel Better When You’re Miserable {Part III}
