PRAYER FOR TODAY FRIDAY 10TH NOVEMBER 2023 – A PRAYER FOR SUFFERING

DAILY PRAYER AND SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY.

Engage these Daily Prayer and Scriptures for today. Take to God all that you desire in prayers, while you watch restfully as he steps into situations to bring out beauty and colour in your live. Today, as you commune with God, know that God has settled all that concerns you, Just believe and pray with faith in your heart. Remain blessed in Jesus name, Amen.

Today’s Prayer is Authored by: Ashley Moore

Prayer Focus For Today 10th November 2023: A Prayer for Suffering 

“But then I recall all you have done O LORD; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.” – Psalm 77:11, NLT

Many are reluctant to cry out to God when suffering for fear their complaints would offend Him. And rightly so! Remember in Exodus when the Lord burned with anger at the Israelites for grumbling? But there is a significant difference between complaining about God versus complaining to God.

In Psalm 77, the psalmist lamented, meaning he cried out to God about a loss he was experiencing. The NLT version says he even shouted to God about the difficulty of his circumstances. Questioning if God had abandoned him, the Psalmist couldn’t sleep. He was in deep trouble. And he was so distressed the text says he couldn’t even pray (Psalm 77:1-7).

Have you ever been in a situation like this before? Maybe your struggle feels insignificant, like a relational tension. Or perhaps, you’ve suffered an unexpected tragedy. Whatever the case, as humans with limited understanding, we struggle to understand why God allows suffering into our lives. In our darkest moments, we wonder if questioning God is sinful.

Does He get tired of hearing me vent? Does God care about my problems, or does He hear my cries as nagging complaints?

But think about the character and nature of God from scripture. He is a relational God, inviting us to be part of a family (2 Corinthians 6:18). He desires that we talk with Him about everything, especially the things that break our hearts (1 Peter 5:7). He longs to comfort us through His Holy Spirit (John 14:16). He is also an all-knowing God, meaning nothing we experience, feel, or think about is hidden from Him (Psalm 139). Not only does He know everything about us, but He understands His creation’s complete dependency and frailty and loves us despite us (Jeremiah 31:3).

God longs for us to lament the hardships we face to Him. When we courageously share the burdens of our lives with our all-powerful God, He does something wonderful. He reminds us of the good news of Christ! We remember Jesus suffered too. And because He took all the penalty of our sin onto Himself, we can trust the day is approaching when we will be restored to perfection with our Heavenly Father just as He was. However, like Christ, while on earth, we will endure suffering and trials of many kinds (1 Peter 5:10). We will never stop needing this reminder and the good news of Christ, especially on the hard days.

We draw closer to God when we humble ourselves by bringing our laments before Him. This shifts our focus from our circumstances to our good God. When we experience the presence of God by reading His Word or in prayer, we are flooded with recollections of all the amazing things He has done. Remembering His faithfulness causes us to overflow with praise. And God hardwired us to experience deep pleasure and joy when we praise Him. So even in the middle of hardship, we can still rejoice.

God desires we bring our complaints to Him because we can’t praise or experience joy if we bypass the process of lamenting our suffering. We don’t have to be afraid of offending God because lamenting is not complaining about God but rather complaining to Him. We can cry out to God about our trials. And allow Him to turn the pain into praise so we can experience joy that transcends our troubles.

PRAYER FOR TODAY.

Let’s pray:

Dear Lord,
I thank you for who you are and who I am in light of that. God, you are faithful, slow to anger, and abounding in love for me (Psalm 103:8). Thank you that you can handle every big emotion I experience. Thank you for inviting me to place all my disappointments onto your strong shoulders.

Lord, forgive me when I wrongly believe that you are bothered by my problems or I fear that you will become angry about my complaints and grief. God help me courageously bring these things before you. Help me recall all the wonderful things you’ve done, including the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Thank you for helping me put my problems into perspective.

God, help me surrender to the process of lamenting so I can experience joy and peace that surpasses my understanding. You are a good God! Thank you that you bend down to hear my prayers even now (Psalm 116:2).
In your name, I pray, amen.

This Is the Assurance of Answers to Your Prayers – Matthew 7:7-11

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will YOUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN GIVE GOOD THINGS TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM!