How To Pray When It’s Really Hard
Devotions

How To Pray When It’s Really Hard

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  • August 18, 2016
  • 24 Comments
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I stared helplessly at the wardrobe.

The long days of being ill were evident on the clothes
hung in the closet.
Mumbling and Complaining under my breath as I flipped
them over from side to side.

Related Article: 4 Reasons To Stop Complaining and What To Do Instead

Words, they were, but I can’t recollect any of it.
Finally, I recalled ‘The Only One’ who can help
me.
“Lord I need you, help me through this”.

The
hard thing about going through difficulties is trusting God and praying in the midst of it.
It’s hard because we tend to focus on the
situation.
It’s hard because we want to wake up and realise
all of it is a dream.
But the situation is here with us and threatening
to steal our hearts from ‘the One’ who can help us overcome them.

When
life feels upside down, we need come to the place of worship where our heart draws
closer to His.
I want to pray.
I really want to pray especially in those hard
times.
But truthfully, sometimes it is hard.
Even if it were only a whisper, the Lord hears.
When we are weak, only the Lord is strong enough
to bear us up.
His strength is all we need on those days.

Related Article: A Prayer For Hard Days

My heart wants to linger in His presence but
sometimes I am distracted by the trolls of failures, the noise of
disappointments, the parade of all the things not working. 

There are many times
we want to pray but the wave of distractions pulls our hearts away from where
it ought to be. Where it ought to be is right there in His Presence.
He didn’t say we will never come through this
road.
He didn’t say He was never going to be there with
us.
But He said He will never leave us of forsake us.
Even if His silence screams in these bends, our hearts
should learn to trust that He is right in the midst of it all.
When the Hebrew boys were thrown into the furnace,
He didn’t leave them alone, He was there.
When Daniel was thrown into the den, He was there
too.
When the Israelites went through the Red Sea, He
was there.
When
you are too feeble to pray,

à Remember He
hears your cries and knows your deepest desires and your struggles. (Isaiah 30:19)
à Remember, you
don’t have to pray all perfect.
He needs all of your heart instead. (Psalm 34:18)
à Remember, Jesus
intercedes for you (Romans 8:34)
There’s no need to hide your hurt, pain or failure bring
all of that burden to Him. (Matthew 11:28)
That’s what I want you to know.
Next time when praying in the midst of failures,
disappointments, difficulties or sickness or whatever life challenges you are
faced with, remember to …

♠ Pray with Gratitude: Let
God know you are grateful for how far He has brought you
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God. 
Philippians 4:6

♠
Pray with Repentance:
Let
your sins be uncovered (Proverbs 28:13) and take away everything that wants to put a gap between
you and Jesus.
Behold,
the Lord‘s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear
heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between
you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not
hear.
Isaiah
59:1-2

♠
Pray with Confidence:
Let
your heart safely trust in God and come to His throne with boldness because He
is your Father and He is faithful.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

♠
Pray with Faith: How
can we receive anything without believing that He is? Faith in Christ no matter
what.
Let us draw near with a true heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 
Hebrews 10:12
My Prayer for You
Dear Lord I pray for my friend who is seated behind the screen who is feels too weak to pray or is tired of her situation. I pray earnestly that you hear her even if it were only a whisper. I pray that you turn around her situaiton for good in Jesus name.Fill her up with your strenght dear Lord. Help her through her life battles and let her enjoy more grace and victory in Jesus name.

By His Great Grace,

Ifeoma Samuel.
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    • by: JES
    • 8 years ago

    This is beautiful and encouraging. Thank you! And thank you also for sharing with us on the Art of Home-Making Mondays at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth…

  • Such an encouraging post. I am so thankful the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf. The last two years have brought some very hard times in my personal life and I'm so thankful the Lord hears the prayers of our hearts during those hard to pray moments.

  • Thanks for linking this post up with Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com! Prayer is such a challenge but so rewarding!
    Tina

  • Gratitude, Repentance, Confidence, Faith! I love that. I think we most often forget the repentance part. We are so burdened with our needs that we forget our biggest need is to turn from our sin. Great post. Visiting today from #LMMLinkup 🙂

  • Ifeoma, thank you so much for this reminder to pray even when it is hard. When we are weak we need to go to God in prayer even if we can hardly mouth the words. The Holy Spirit within us helps us even then. This is such an encouraging post. I'm choosing it to feature this week on my blog for #LiteracyMusingMondays! Blessings to you!

  • Thank you for creating this beautiful place to come as we are, and be reminded of HIS promises. Some days it's really hard to give it my all, and the thing is- God already knows. Can't hide anything from Him, right?! I really felt led to start a blog, but boy oh boy is the enemy trying to bombarded me with fears of failure and so on. So, I needed this boost, and the title was perfect 🙂 I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts and connecting! Blessings,
    http://www.loveinspireddetails.com

  • I love your scriptures and ways to pray at the end: with Gratitude, with Repentance. Both of those are so important and can truly help us through hard seasons. Blessings on your book launch!

  • I was at the store and I didn't even care that the clerk overcharged me, because my daughter was in the hospital near death. My only thought was God heal my daughter and get me through this day. That was many years ago now, and by God's grace and medical help the doctors were able to treat her and she has lived a somewhat normal life. Now a days, it is our son who still needs prayer after being wrongfully accused by a female patient. I heard a statement, that no one wins in court except the lawyers who keep logging up their legal fees. In this case the attorney is robbing my son blind. Offering a deal, but no one will come to the table. So I sing while I pray. I sing in other tongues the language of angels and God hears and is answering in His own way. Thank you for sharing with us here at Tell me a Story.

  • I think we can all bring to mind those times of deepest need, and often, just calling out to God is all we can do….and it is enough! Yes, he understands and stands ready to hold us and carry us through. A much needed message Ifeoma!

  • I've so been there.
    Great post.

    • by: Beth
    • 8 years ago

    It is easy in those discouraging moments to turn away from the Lord, but when we finally surrender our hearts to Him in prayer, we feel such sweet release! Thanks for sharing your inspiring words, Ifeoma. Your post and reminders have brightened my day!

  • Ifeoma such an encouraging post and I know your beautiful words are going to bless so many lives.

  • I will remember these words on the hard days, when I feel too weak to know how to pray. I love the scriptures and all of your wisdom here. Your attitude toward your readers really inspires me too, and that you take the time to go out of your way. What a friend. Blessings to you, dear! Thanks for linking up at #TeaAndWord last week!

  • Ifeoma, one of the most powerful prayers I ever prayed was simply the name of Jesus. His presence met my deepest need. I love that He even hears our groanings.
    Thank you for encouraging me to seek Him first!

    • by: Anonymous
    • 8 years ago

    I miscarried in April. That was hard but it drew me close to God after years away. I got pregnant again in June but no symptoms and after 4 ultrasounds, still no baby can be seen. Just a gestational scan. During the last check on 18th Aug, the HCG has not doubled every 36/48 hours but increased from 5900 to just 15000 in 14 days. I am hoping God will answer me yes to this baby but its hard not to wonder why one has to do through miscarriages even though I know am not the only one experiencing this horror. Its hard to understand what God's will in letting a woman go through miscarriages can possibly be. Its so heartbreaking no matter how much one tries to trust Him. I really don't know what to do. My prayers feel like empty words. My praise feels like am trying to bribe God. What is His will in this? I don't know? Its very confusing. One starts to question so many things (like the unending suffering in the Middle East and Africa). May be its just the weakness of my faith coming through but I really don't want to experience another loss of a baby. I hope its not God's will. I know He can carry me through it but with what scars? Can I bear the scars this experience is giving me? Its hard and cruel. Please pray for my baby and for my faith. I am broken

    • Dear Anonymous my heart goes out to you this morning, but hang on to hope. I've been there and through many miscarriages with no hope, but our hope is in Christ and you know what one day I finally did conceive and I have a grown son and daughter in their thirties and now two grandsons. It's hard, but one day I was able to thank God for those miscarriages as I watch and love the two children I have because I realized I would never had known them had I not walked through all that pain. Today I'm excited as our DIL had a number of miscarriages (5 or 6) the past year, but she is pregnant with twins and her numbers are rising and two sonograms showed heartbeats. I also watched my daughter walk through infertility and the pain of that and now she has an 18 month old and she's also pregnant. We are praying for these three babies all due next March and for this Nana it will be like having triplet grandchildren and I can't wait to meet them and see what God is going to do. I think for my family all this pain has taught me and my children how precious a baby is and how beautiful creation is. I will be lifting you in prayer along with my girls. Hugs.

    • Dear sweet anonymous I was fighting back tears reading this. Does the Lord know what you are going through? Does He know your struggles? Is He aware of your pain?

      Friend, the Lord knows your name, address and everything you are passing through.
      It's hard sometimes to hang on in times of pain and uncertainty but I have seen Him manifest His awesomeness.
      I know He will do what He will concerning your case.
      I am holding hands with you in faith and believing that The Lord will come through for you in Jesus Name.

      My prayer for you,
      Dear Lord, I am grateful for my sister's life…indeed you are God and her case is a small thing before you. You know where she is right now. Dear Jesus break every evil pattern the enemy has woven in her life. By the power in the name of Jesus let the bondage over her life be broken. Oh dear Jesus, wipe away her tears give her laughter and joy…let her waste places be turned to fruitful land in your mercy in Jesus Name. Finish the good work you have started Lord for your Glory alone in Jesus Name. Amen.
      I hope to hear from you soon.

  • This is so perfect for the season I am in right now. I've been mentoring some ladies that I know could use this word too. I will definitely be sharing this post with them! Thank you Ifeoma

  • Wonderfully edifying post full of so much encouragement.

    Those times that it is hard for me to pray, I always remember that the Holy Spirit is praying for me with groans to deep for words.

    Always a blessing to visit here. 🙂

  • Lovely encouraging words… I read somewhere about a man who when he felt too weak to pray would just lift up his had and say "come get me Jesus"… God knows where we are and sometimes the best place to start is just to acknowledge him in our weakness. Thank you for the uplifting prayer at the end too. God is good! Happy to be your neighbor at #freshmarketfriday today!

  • Thank you for these beautiful Scriptures and prayer to help us remember that we are never alone! I needed this today. — Blessings!

  • So thankful for this reminder that there is no cave too dark or too deep for God to find us and to hear our prayers!

  • Great post, Ifeoma. I'm sure you've given strength and hope to many hearts today!

    #2 at FMF this week.

    http://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2016/08/your-dying-spouse-196-team-of-one-fmf.html

  • I agree it is very important to think about praise, being confident, and having faith during prayer. Sometimes is a very hard to do those things because we are constantly looking at things from our own limited perspective instead of from God's perspective. When we start concentrating on who He is our problem suddenly starts to become smaller and smaller.

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