Several songs have been running through my mind lately; the playlist’s top choice is ‘Sweet Hour of Prayer.’ It is this line that captures my attention, “In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief; And oft escaped the tempter’s snare… by thy return, sweet hour of prayer.’ Distress and grief are like leeches on our souls; they’re always lurking on the edge of every moment to turn what should be good into something stressful and debilitating. Friendships bring joy until someone makes a powerplay. Work brings challenges and satisfaction until someone robs you of those sentiments. Life is full of adventure until illness and loss creep in. How do we fight back and reclaim what should be genuine and authentic? The next lyric in the song is the answer, a Sweet hour of Prayer, “calls me from a world of care, and bids me at my Father’s throne, (to) make all my wants and wishes known.” Craig Groeschel writes, “Your circumstances may be bad, but your God is still good. He is near, His promises are still true, His love still unconditional, His grace still amazing, His timing still perfect. You may not like the what of what’s going on, but you can still praise God for ‘the who’ of who He is.” That time of praise is found when we withdraw from this worlds’ cares to our Father’s throne through a sweet hour of Prayer.
Prayer is our connection to God. I can’t say that it is always sweet on my part; some hours are full of anger, pain, yelling, crying, and silence before God. The sweet element comes into play as He always lets me get it all out, making everything known to Him… even if it’s harsh. Having heard every one of my heart’s appeals, He then invites me to come rest in His presence, knowing He is good, faithful, His promises are true, and the Spirit is at work.
Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians, “Jesus is alive and sits at God’s right hand; that is why we can be confident and never give up. Though we hurt and face physical struggles, our Spirit is renewed every day by the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs anything else and will last forever! So, we don’t look at the troubles we can see today; instead, we fix our mind’s focus on things the Spirit is doing that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see, the stuff the Spirit is working on, that will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT)
The words of the hymn ring in my thoughts again… that Sweet Hour of Prayer “calls me from this world of care.” By my return to God’s presence where He bids me (to) make all my wants and wishes known, I find relief from my distress and grief and escape the temptation to rely on my own understanding and not trust Him with all my heart. I intend to return here often, to seek God through His Word and trust the Spirit to lead me through the false accusations, losses, heartaches, fear, and seasons of distress and grief. Without returning to Prayer, even momentarily, I won’t make it; I will be crushed, for it is Prayer that wins each day. May your hope and trust be forever in our Heavenly Father, spending many sweet hours of Prayer with Him… In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Choose wisely…
#prayerwinstheday
* Groeschel – “Winning the War in Your Mind”
Written by David Brown: David Brown is a husband, father, grandfather, Pastor with a Masters of Religious Studies and a Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Religions. Dave is the Associate Pastor of Pemberton’s First Baptist Church.
Think About This: “Offer God what you have and trust Him to give you what you need.” — Craig Groeschel
