Praying During Times of Trouble

 James 5:13 (ESV)

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

With that being said, I could end it there. Instead I'm going to share with you some things I've learned from a man named Habakkuk.

Habakkuk was struggling. A lot trouble, evil, and suffering was going in the land of Judah. When he saw the trouble going on, he cried out to God with questions. Why was God letting all these bad things happen? How could God allow these things to happen? (Habakkuk 1:2-4) God replied to Habakkuk's cries.

Habakkuk 1:5 (ESV)

Look among the nations, and see;
    wonder and be astounded.
For I am doing a work in your days
    that you would not believe if told.

Then God said to Habakkuk that he would be raising up their enemies to punish them. When he was told this, Habakkuk was confused. Why would God use evil to punish evil? 

Habakkuk 2:4 (ESV, italics mine) 

Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
    but the righteous shall live by his faith.

God told Habakkuk that they would be punished for their evil deeds. When Habakkuk heard this, he started to praise God through prayer (Habakkuk 3).

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (ESV)

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
    nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
    and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
    and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the deer's;
    he makes me tread on my high places.

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.

 So what was the point of all that? Habakkuk was going through hardships, yet he didn't desert God. Quite the opposite, he went to God and told him exactly what was on his mind. He listened to what God said, and accepted it with faith and praise. (I highly recommend that you read the book of Habakkuk on your own).

What about us? In John 16:33 it says that we will have troubles in life. It's inevitable. We all will go through troubles of some kind or nature. In Psalm 46:1 it says that God is our refuge and strength in times of trouble. So what should we do when we encounter trouble? We should go to God and tell him everything that's on our mind. Then we need to put our complete trust in him.

1 Peter 3:14-17 (ESV)

 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.

When troubles come, trust in God. Pray and tell him what's on your heart. Let him guide you through the difficult times you encounter. 

I pray that this will encourage you not to give up when troubles come.

*This post took a while, as I wasn't sure what God wanted me to share with you. I had been praying about it when a friend mentioned they had been reading Habakkuk. It was an answer to prayer!*

Tools for Prayer

I've used many things in my prayer life, to remember to pray, to grow stronger in prayer, and to remember the people I'm praying for.

My first prayer journal (above), I started in Sept. 2011 and used till Nov. 2012. I wrote down everything I was praying for that day, everyday (skipping days here and there). When that became tedious, I used it to ponder on Bible verses or in a few cases to release anger by scribbling and/or writing out prayers of "anguish." This is the most filled prayer journal.

I kinda liked writing out prayers, so Nov. 2012 - Dec. 2012, I wrote out my prayers. It worked, in a way, but honestly I kinda slacked off. The next dated thing in it was from Feb. 2013 in which I did verse by verse study of Philemon. (Exciting, right? lol) In Oct. 2013 I used it for Becoming a Young Woman of Faith. In April of 2014 I used it for 30 Days of Love. This has a lot of empty pages still.

My current prayer journal is a much more usable prayer journal. Since July 8th I've written down the names of people I'm praying for, and I've been fairly diligent in remembering to pray for them. I divided the pages with a straight line down the middle, putting the request/person on one side and putting "answered!" on the cases in which they have. Because of this method, I've only used up a couple pages so far.

I've also used a couple prayer devotional books. One I think was 100 ways to Pray or something like that. I've also memorized a prayer from the Bible. I should work on a few more. I memorized Ephesians 3:14-21 a couple years ago. It is a prayer for Spiritual Strength.

I hope one of these ideas may spark your interest and that you would be able to use one in a diligent manner, yet at the same time, I pray it will be from your heart to God.

Someone asked......

Someone asked me what dance means to me: 

Dance is my life, 

passion, in my blood, 

part of me, 

every inch of my toes, 

every step that I take, every 

song that I hear I choreograph mentally, 

physically, 

and emotionally, 

my heart beats with the feet that 

fly over the floor, 

whirling, twirling, until the 

 music ends and I start again.

Throwback Tuesday: Pearl S. Buck

Pearl S. Buck was a daughter of missionaries and a famous novelist. Her novel The Good Earth was #1 for 1931 and 1932, and won awards including Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize.

“Love cannot be forced, love cannot be coaxed and teased. It comes out of heaven, unasked and unsought.” ― Pearl S. Buck

“To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart and a free mind.” 
― Pearl S. Buck