Week 6 Pleading the Promises When We Are In Trouble

What do you do when you’re in trouble? Asaph shows us what we need to do when we are so troubled that we cannot speak. “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; in the night my hand was stretched out without weariness” (Psalm 77:2). The psalmists knew what we may not know - our prayers are absolutely essential at all times, but especially when we are in trouble. There is only one real place of help and that is the Lord. He gives us an abundance of help in His promises. We read Spurgeon’s helpful words elaborating on the metaphor of the checking account of the promises of God. He speaks of how we are when we go to a bank with a check - we expect to receive the money and won’t leave until we’ve transacted business. We are not “triflers” when it comes to money. Then he says this and it truly cuts at the heart of any complacency: “Alas, a great many people play at praying. They do not expect God to give them an answer, and thus they are mere triflers. Our heavenly Father would have us do real business with Him in our praying.” I like those words. They encourage us to get real about prayer and seriously plead the promises of God with our Lord. May it be so in our lives todayh.