From Desperation to Faith

What do your prayers sound like? By this I do not refer to the eloquence of your prayers or the words you use, but to the “heart-sound” of your prayers.

When we find ourselves in difficult places in our lives, we tend to pray desperate prayers – something like, “Lord please help! I don’t know how I am going to get through this!” This is the right thing to do – run to God and cry out to Him. In Psalm 18 David found himself in a time of distress, and He knew Who to go to for help. He knew that his prayer was heard by God.

But I was challenged by the Lord regarding the way I pray in the tough times I face. He impressed on my heart that it was right and good to cry out to Him for help in every difficulty I face, but that He didn’t want me to stay there. My prayers needed to move from a place of desperation to a place of FAITH.

In Psalm 18 David describes his place of desperation, but quickly moves on to tell how great the Lord is, and he goes on to declare this: “As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him. For who is God except the Lord? Or who is the Rock save our God, The God who girds me with strength and makes my way perfect… The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted!” (verse 30-32, 46)

When my prayers remain desperate in nature, my spirit and my soul will remain in a state of anxiety and turmoil. When I choose to turn to what God says in His Word, and focus on His character and declare the truth I know concerning Him, it causes an inner stability and a secure trust to arise from within my spirit.

Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.” When our minds are nurtured with God’s Word and His truth, we have a secure foundation to land on in times when our emotions are in a place of turmoil. When we know that God is our Source of comfort, and our minds are at peace because of Who we know He is, our prayers of desperation will confidently evolve into prayers of faith.

Don’t stay in that place of desperation when your soul feels overwhelmed by your situation. Choose to dig deep into what you know to be true in your spirit – That God is good, that God is faithful and that He is the Hearer of prayer (Psalm 65:2). Choose to move from desperation to faith!