Pray It Anyway

I ,may have mentioned it in the past but Steve and I subscribe to a magazine entitled "Pray". Over the years it has had many articles that have enhanced my prayer life. The March/April issue is entitled "Cries from the Wilderness: Praying When Life Hurts". There were so many good articles. I just thought I would give you some of the quotes that caught my attention.

"I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me. I will call on him as long as I live." Psalm 116:1-2

"I went through times when it was difficult to pray because I didn't dare to be honest with God. I was hurt, angry scared, and confused. Anything I might have said to him wouldn't have sounded at all like the pretty and polite prayers I was used to hearing in church. It was then that another friend pointed me to the psalms. She observed that the psalmists were gut-honest about how they felt and that God seemed capable of handling their negative feelings. So in that season, I learned to lament." --Cynthia Bezek

"Suffering either makes you better or it makes you bitter."
"Anyone who is called to intercession is called to participate in both the joy and the pain of God."
"The fact that we are struggling is actually the mark of a vibrant faith, not unbelief."
"When we suffer the enemy tempts us to embrace isolation--to draw up the drawbridge. But these are the very times when we need people more than ever."
"We need to be careful not to confuse the silence of God with the absence of God."--Peter Greig

"Those who wrote many of the psalms didn't pray in a protected environment. In fact, their circumstances were often much more exhausting than mine. But somehow they managed to turn their eyes from the visible situation to the invisible God."
"Praise is a determined resolution."
"Prayer honors God most when it's worshipful in the absence of visible reasons to worship. That type of prayer declares who He is when the declartion isn't self evident. It's a defiant statement that no matter how much the world, the flesh, or the devil obscure His goodness, He's still good."
--Chris Tiegreen

"Because hurting people need the freedom and courage to be honest in expressing their difficulties, we, too, need to be authentic with every word we offer in prayer. For me this often begins by admitting my own inadequacy. For example, I may pray, "Lord, I don't have a clue how to begin..." or, "Father, You're the only one who knows what the real need is here..." or, "Jesus, to be perfectly honest, this whole thing stinks..."
"When we prya real prayers from our heart those who suffer breathe a sigh of relief, thankful that they don't have to hide their hurt from us or God."--Tricia McCary Rhodes