H.E.L.P.

Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you. 

Psalm 102:1  (NIV)

The King James Version of Psalm 102: 1 is "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee."  But I wanted to use the NIV because of one word:  "help."

Have you ever been in a situation where you were completely at the end of yourself?  Maybe your heart was broken and your spirit was crushed.  (Psalm 34:18)   You knew you needed to pray, but actually were unable to find any words to express your lament.  The only word you could cry out was "HELP!"  That's a desperate place to be.  Well, maybe it will 'help' to know that I've been there.  And if we're all  honest, we've probably all been there at some point in our lives. 

One word...HELP.   A cry out for intervention, deliverance, guidance, strength.  You name it, "Help" is desperation in one word. 

Psalm 102:17 says, "He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer." (KJV)  The word "regard" means "respond to."   We all know of His promise to "hear us when we call."  How many people "hear us" whenever we unload our burdens to them?   Certainly anyone we talk to "hears us."  But how many of those same people actually RESPOND---and DO SOMETHING about it??   Well, here we have God's promise to respond to the prayer of the destitute.  

Destitute in Hebrew is "arar" which means "naked, poor."  Completely stripped down to nothing, we bare ourselves before the King---with nothing to hide. 'This is where I am..I'm in a desperate situation!" 

The first step to getting help is to recognize you have a problem and need help, right?  Notice whenever God dealt with His children He always asked them a question.  Several times that question was:  "Where are you??"   "Adam where art thou?"  God knew exactly where Adam was.   He wanted ADAM to know where ADAM was.   Adam had to recognize "Uh oh, I'm in trouble...and this is where I am....I blew it."   When Cain slew Abel, God asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"   God knew where Abel was..but He wanted CAIN to admit where Abel was..."I murdered Abel."  

In order to have God respond to our cries for help, we need to remember a few things:

H.E.L.P.  --  Humble ourselves.  ( I can think of nothing less humbling than to be stripped down naked before my God, can you??)  But remember, that's the first step to GETTING HELP...recognizing where you are...admitting it..removing all masks and baring all before the Throne of Grace.  I Peter 5:6 says, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time..."  

Then the next step is to Expect God to hear us.   How many times have you and I gone before the Throne of Grace with an attitude of "Oh well, I wonder if He even listened??"  (bad attitude, I know..but let me be honest...I've been there.)  One of my favorite promises of God is Micah 7:7--"Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me." (KJV)  Take that one to the Bank of Faith and cash it in!   Cha-Ching! 

Not only should we expect God to have his "listening ears on," but we also should have our listenin' ears on too!   Listen to His voice.  Matthew 17:5 clearly states God the Father's desire for us:  "...This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."  In our desperate cries for help, we need to take time to be still and listen for His voice.  Surely He will tell us something in order to guide us through our moment of need!  

The last part is particularly special to my heart tonight.  Praise Him in advance.  The Lord showed me this weekend, in the midst of a "storm," when the "rug was pulled out from under me" and I had no idea what to do.  I reached for my Bible Promise "Bread Box" and He gave me these two scriptures:  Hebrews 10:36 "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."   "The Will of God??"  What IS His will for me in this??  Hello?   I Thess. 5:16-18 "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  Aaahhh!  I get it now!   For this very moment, we are to Praise Him. Psalm 34:1 "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth."  Even if you can't muster up the "cheery" spirit to praise Him,  it's okay, because David says, "HIS Praise will be in my mouth."  The Holy Spirit will produce the praise from within you by putting a song in your heart.  

This is the best way I can think of to ask for HELP.    No need to dial 911 in this situation.   :)   Don't forget to praise Him, continue to pray and have a joyful spirit (by staying in His presence)---because it seems to me He is saying that "after you have done this, you will receive the promise."  He will announce to you something specifically for YOU and your situation.  H.E.L.P. is on the way!

Father, Thank You for my times of distress.  Yes..I praise You for my need for Your Help.  For You have revealed to me a strategy for getting a response from YOU.  May You uplift all my sisters and brothers who are in dire need of Your help as well.  Turn Your face to us, for we humbly bow before You now, baring all to You---our hearts are in desperate need of just a glance from You.  In Jesus' Name we pray..Amen.  

Word-Check

Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me? John 18:23

Today's thought is primarily for those of us who are God's children. We've been born into His family through accepting His gift of salvation through Jesus, and more than likely we are familiar with His promises found in Scripture. Maybe we can even quote some great promises verbatim. I wonder though, when the first sign of trouble comes along, is our faith shaken? All of a sudden, if the precious promises of God have not taken a deep root within our hearts, our faith rapidly deteriorates.

Oh...my.  I can look back and say, "Yes, this is true of my past experiences. . . (and if I'm honest, there may be times in the future when I find my faith to be too small.)

Have you ever had an experience that brought you so low, that when others around you tried to encourage you with God's promises, that you have outwardly expressed your doubts? God is listening. He is not pleased when He hears us filling the atmosphere around us with our doubts of His sovereignty.

Malachi 3:13 reveals our Father's inward feelings towards our outward expression of doubt and fear. He says, "Your words have been stout (harsh) against me. Yet ye say, 'What have we spoken so much against thee?'" Verse 14 reveals His answer: Basically He says, "You have said it's of no use to serve me. . .look at everyone around me that has no trials, has "been blessed with ease and comfort in this life."  Did you ever stop to think that whenever we talk, just in passing, no matter how minute the comment may be, that our Lord is listening, and taking notes?  Did I say notes? Yes...Look at verse 16: "Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name." He is writing down what we are saying about Him. Whoah.

Let's don't diminish our "opinion" of God..or our impression of Him.  Do not try to contain the Uncontainable with your "plastic" circumstances (trials.)

When I read John 18:23, the Holy Spirit paused my thoughts..."dwell on that." Then He began to tie everything together: Jesus is the Word. He promises to meet our need in every situation, no matter how big our problem may be! (Phil. 4:19) He promises to comfort the broken-hearted and to save those with a crushed spirit. (Psalm 34:18)

Now, look at John 18:23 again..."If I have spoken evil..." His promises are God's SPOKEN Word to us. Who of us could ever say that anything that came forth from Our Lord's mouth was ever evil? None of us could because He spoke the Truth. He IS Truth.

He seems to be challenging us to take Him at His Word! "Tell me if I have spoken evil!" BUT, look at the rest of the verse! "But if (I have spoken) well, WHY SMITEST thou me?" God says our verbal (and inward) expression of DOUBTING His promises, are "Harsh!" "Why smitest thou me?" Could it be that we are smiting our Lord whenever we doubt Him and have the nerve to EXPRESS our doubts??? It seems like it to me.

Checkpoint: Have you doubted Him today? Let me encourage you to take Him as His Word. He honors His Word above His name! Do not try to contain Him, the Uncontainable, within your circumstances. NOTHING is too big for Him to turn around for your good and His glory.

Dear Father, please forgive us of how we talk, even within the confines of our home. Help us to remember You ARE listening. When we doubt You, because of our lack of faith, You are not pleased. Don't You grow weary of our inability to SEE You (And TRUST YOU) for Who You are? Help us to please You by the way we present You (and our faith IN YOU) to others around us. Do a "Word-Check" on our discussions, and check us if we are speaking anything but the Truth, which is YOUR Word. Thank You for Your Divine Enabling to get us this far in our journey with You. In Jesus' Name I pray, amen.