Seven Ways To Pray When You’re Suffering

Podcast (listen-to-this-article-here): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:48 — 23.4MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Have you ever tried to pray when you’re suffering and found it difficult, maybe almost impossible? When my mother died suddenly in 1995, I was in deep anguish. I spent a lot of time praying, but a lot of that time was just crying out to God in despair and confusion.

Likewise, there have been many other times when I’ve tried to pray when suffering and found it challenging.

Perhaps you’re going through such a time right now. I hope this article can help.

And if not, you might want to read it anyways, so you’ll prepare for the next tragedy that comes your way. Rest assured, it will come.

Here are seven ways to pray when you’re suffering:

01. Pray Optimistically When Suffering

In suffering we might be tempted to lose hope. Discouragement and depression can follow.

But with God there is always hope, therefore we can pray optimistically.

It’s interesting that our Lord Jesus prayed before going to the cross: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39a ESV)

Jesus prayed optimistically for a release from the coming suffering until He knew the request was denied.

02. Pray Submissively When Suffering

At the same time as we pray optimistically, we must also do as Jesus prayed at the end of the verse above: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39 ESV)

Trying to demand our preference from God is not just impossible, it is foolish.

When Job tried to tell God that his suffering was a mistake, he got a strong rebuke from the Lord that began with the words “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?” (see Job 38-41)

03. Pray Futuristically When Suffering

Jesus is our example when His prayer for deliverance was not answered. What did He do? Did he:

Suggest God didn’t know what He was doing?Wallow in self-pity?Stop believing in prayer?Stop believing in His Father’s goodness?

Of course He did none of these.

This verse tells us what He did: “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2 ESV)

Jesus endured as He remembered “the joy that was set before him.”

In other words, He looked forward to heaven.

Likewise, we need an eternal perspective to endure the difficulties of this fallen world.

04. Pray Persistently When Suffering

Another important way to pray when you’re suffering is to be persistent in our request.

Jesus affirmed the value of persistent prayer in stories like the friend at midnight and the widow and the unjust judge.

Jesus made it clear that we “ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1 ESV)

On the other hand, if God makes it clear that the answer is “no,” then we must accept His answer and not be like a pouting child.

The Apostle Paul demonstrated both persistence and acceptance when he wrote about his “thorn in the flesh”:

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10 ESV)

05. Pray Joyfully When Suffering

The last phrase of the passage above is one of my personal favorites. “When I am weak, then I am strong.” Why? Because it gives me such peace and joy when I feel weak. I know that in my personal weakness, God can act powerfully!

This is affirmed in the epistle of James: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4 ESV)

Muscles don’t get bigger when we sit on a couch watching TV. We get stronger as we use our muscles.

Likewise, our faith and character don’t grow until we are tested. We can thank God that in our adversities we have an opportunity to grow, no matter what the outcome.

I have several friends, including Carolyn’s sister, who have testified that as a Christian, a diagnosis of cancer was the best thing that ever happened to them. Why? Because they grew so much through the trial. Their faith came into maturity, they began letting go of this world and putting their eyes more on what is eternal. They learned to look at what is truly important instead of the frivolities of this world.

06. Pray Frankly When Suffering

We don’t have to try to hide our emotions from God—He already knows them.

I love Psalm 88 for its frankness:

1 O LORD, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before you. 2 Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! 3 For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. 4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, 5 like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. 6 You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. 7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah 8 You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape; 9 my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O LORD; I spread out my hands to you. 10 Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah 11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? 12 Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13 But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. 14 O LORD, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? 15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless. 16 Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me. 17 They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together. 18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness. (emphasis mine)

How’s that psalm for honesty in prayer!

Yes, you can pour out your hearts to God in prayer, as long as you remember two things:

a. Continue to pray optimistically and joyfully as explained above.

b. In your honesty, never curse God or abandon your faith.

Job is a great example in this: “Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.’ But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (Job 2:9-10 ESV)

07. Pray Gratefully When Suffering

You might not feel like being grateful, but it is one of the best ways to pray when you’re suffering. Why? Because being grateful helps us to rise up out of the pit we’re in.

In our suffering, there are often two sources of suffering:

a. The actual situation we are subjected to.

b. The mental anguish we subject ourselves to.

This means agonizing over questions like:

• Why me?

• What if I would have…?

• Why now?

• If only…?

• ”How do I deserve this?

What happens is we effectively double our suffering with these methods of mental anguish we subject ourselves to.

Instead of doubling our misery with these grinding questions, we must do as God has commanded: “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV)

Note that it doesn’t say “give thanks FOR all circumstances.” It says IN all circumstances. That means we can, and we must, find reasons to be grateful in every situation.

All of us have blessings even in the midst of our troubles. We just take them for granted. Our family, our friends, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the privilege of prayer, the work we find meaningful.

If you are a Christian, you have something that trumps all else: salvation and eternal life. Mark 8:36 explains “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (ESV)

(If you aren’t a born again Christian, click HERE to learn how to become one.)

Finally, remember that even in your greatest trials you can thank God for the same truth that Paul claimed: “when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10 ESV) (see point 5 above).

For more help and information on how to pray when you’re suffering, see these resources on this website:

• Five Ways to Conquer Complaining and Find Happiness Now

• How Praising Unlocks Heaven on Earth

• So You Think You Can’t Take a Prayer Retreat?

• Why You Need Protecting Prayer in 3 Realms and How to Do It

Podcast: Why Aren’t My Prayers Answered?

3 Reasons God Wants You To Listen To Podcasts

And I’m not just talking about listening to preachers.

Podcast (listen-to-this-article-here): Play in new window | Download(Duration: 12:38 — 23.1MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Imagine you could have a personal mentor with you at all times. Imagine the mentor was an expert in every arena: spiritual, intellectual, physical, career and so on. Imagine that you could listen to mentoring when you were doing other activities: driving, exercising, doing chores, and so on. Imagine the mentoring was all free! Guess what—that’s a pretty good description of what podcasts are. It’s a summary of why I believe God wants you to listen to podcasts.

OK, I’m a bit tongue-in-cheek on the title of this article. But hopefully you’ll agree these are some great reasons to be a podcast listener.

For years now, I’ve been an avid podcast listener, usually on my smartphone. But you don’t have to use a smartphone. Any computer, iPad, laptop, etc. with speakers and an internet connection can be used to listen to podcasts.

If you don’t know how to listen to podcasts, just google the subject and you’ll get plenty of help.

Here are three specific reasons I believe God wants you to listen to podcasts:

01. God expects us to make the best use of our time. 

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV)

I have certainly wasted a lot of time over the years. I’m working to do better. Why? Because the Bible tells me to make “the best use my time.”

And because time is our most precious possession.

So I try to utilize my time as profitably as possible. But I don’t mean just earning money. I mean using my time to profit from growing in all aspects of life: spiritual, intellectual, recreational, physical and so on.

Being able to do this through digital recordings that I can listen to while doing other things is great stewardship of my time.

If I am doing something that also allows me to listen, I can make my time do double-duty. 

I can listen to podcasts:

• While doing routine chores

• While working out at the gym or walking

• While doing yard work

• While driving

• While waiting for appointments

• While eating meals by myself 

I don’t ALWAYS listen to podcasts while doing these activities. But I’ve learned so much from podcasts while utilizing “down time” that I do it as often as I can.

A few other factors make podcasts awesome for time stewardship:

Limited or no commercials.

Unlike radio, most podcasts have very little commercial time or other interruptions. If I listen to a podcast with commercials, I use a skip-ahead function in my podcast player that allows me to jump over commercials. 

Listening flexibility.

I can listen to radio programs in podcast format whenever I want 24/7, not just when they’re on the radio. I can also easily pause and later return and finish a podcast. I can repeat sections I want to review. No more missing broadcasts because I wasn’t available at the right time.

Speed-up function.

My Pocket Casts podcast app has the ability to speed up a podcast without making the speaker sound like the Chipmunks. (Other podcast players do also.) If a speaker seems too slow, or I’m just in a hurry, I can listen two or three times as fast, or anywhere between. Wow!

02. God wants us to grow through mentoring from others.

“Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22 ESV) 

Learning from the insights and knowledge of others isn’t optional. God wants us to learn and grow from the counsel of others.

Just choose an area, skill or other way you want to grow. These days you can find a good podcast on almost any topic. Just search the internet and there’s a good chance you’ll find a podcast on the desired topic.

While writing this article, I did some searches:

We had our windows washed recently so out of curiosity I did a google search for “podcast window washing.” Guess what, up came “The Window Washing Podcast!” Wow. Our son Gabe loves classic video games. So I searched “Podcast video games.” Up popped many podcasts and an article titled “These are the Five Video Gaming Podcasts You Need in Your Life.”But let’s get more serious. I searched for “podcast Christian growth” and up popped many podcasts and an article with “The 25 Must Listen to Christian Podcasts.”I searched for “podcast Christian parenting” and found tons of podcasts.

Do you have to be discerning, especially about spiritual counsel? Certainly! Make sure your spiritual mentors are Bible based.

Click here to check out a list of some of my favorite and most helpful podcasts.

03. God wants us to be good financial stewards and podcasts are free!

“So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” (Luke 16:11 NIV)

I remember the days when to listen to recorded sermons I had to buy or borrow cassette tapes. Before that, 7-inch reel-to-reel tapes were the standard, and they weren’t cheap either.

Today, because digital delivery is so inexpensive, we can listen to podcasts of the best pastors in the world without charge.

Some people say I’m frugal, others might say I’m just cheap. I prefer to think that I am a careful steward of the money God has entrusted to me.

I have never paid for any podcast, yet the content is usually outstanding, even life changing. Wow! 

In conclusion, Amish Christians believe that modern devices are unnecessary and can corrupt us. So they still use horse and buggies to travel. But most Christians believe that we should use inventions like the automobile to better serve God. If you’re not a podcast listener, it’s time to take advantage of this remarkable new time saving invention to grow and better serve God.

Of course there’s one podcast that you never, ever want to miss. It’s my own podcast “Christianity Questions and Answers.” You can even submit your own questions, and I’ll work to get it into the schedule to answer on an upcoming podcast!

Also, since last year I’ve recorded each of my weekly blogs for those who prefer to listen rather than read. Just click on the play button above each blog.

So listen to podcasts—God wants you to!

Have You Opened Your Spiritual Gifts?

The joys of humbly assessing and using your spiritual gifts

Podcast (listen-to-this-article-here): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:18 — 15.2MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Before I opened my spiritual gifts, I have a vivid memory from a summer during college. A neighbor friend who knew I was attending Moody Bible Institute, watched me and heard some of my stories. One day he proclaimed, “I know what you’re going to do—you’re going to become a preacher.” Like Peter denying Jesus 3x before the cock crowed, I quickly said, “Naw, not me. I can’t imagine speaking in front of people.”

Incredible as it may seem, I very much like speaking in front of large groups of people. That’s the kind of change that happens when we open and develop our spiritual gifts. 

It was just a year or so later that I answered God’s call to ministry and preaching. Seems like my neighbor, who I am not sure was a Christian, knew me better than I knew myself!

And guess what—nowadays I absolutely love to preach! (BTW, if you’d like to have me speak for your group, please see my personal Speaking Page.)

What changed my heart? I opened my spiritual gifts.

You see, they really are gifts. Not just assignments, or curses, or jobs to do, but gifts!

I’d like to share with you 3 reasons it’s wonderful to humbly assess and use your spiritual gifts:

01. Spiritual gifts bring us joy

“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.” (1 Corinthians 12:1 ESV)

The Greek word translated “spiritual gifts” in this verse and others is CHARISMA. At its root is the Greek word CHARA which means “Grace: that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness.”

God wants us to be informed about and open our spiritual gifts so we can find “joy, pleasure, and delight.”

Perhaps you also shudder at the thought of speaking in front of crowds. Does that mean you are called to preach? No!

But if you are being called to preach, God will do a work in your heart to where you do love to preach.

Recently I sent a gift to some friends. It was a DVD of a movie called “Monumental.” Later I got a message of gratitude—my friends said they were just sitting down to watch the movie.

I delighted to think of them having the joy of watching the DVD. That’s why I gave that gift to them—to bring them joy.

And that’s why God gives us spiritual gifts—to bring us joy.

02. Because they are gifts, our spiritual gifts should help us stay humble.

“Because of the kindness that God has shown me, I ask you not to think of yourselves more highly than you should. Instead, your thoughts should lead you to use good judgment based on what God has given each of you as believers.” (Romans 12:3b GW)

If I earn something, I might have some excuse to feel prideful.

But if I’m given something as a gift, how can I be proud?

Do you get the picture? Gifts are not a basis for pride but for gratitude.

When in college, I had a so-so guitar. But a friend had a fancy Ovation guitar. She didn’t use it much and one day offered to give it to me so it could be used by the Lord through me. I accepted it and made a commitment to accept any invitation to use it for ministry. For years I led worship using that guitar.

I was quite pleased to use that guitar until it was stolen from our church in a burglary. But then the insurance purchased an even better guitar as a replacement!

If I was prideful about owning those guitars, that would have been stupid. They were gifts.

Likewise, if we are prideful of our spiritual gifts, that is stupid. They are gifts that we don’t deserve. We must humbly use them without pride.

03. When we open and use our spiritual gifts, we see ministries impacted and lives changed.

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1 Peter 4:10 ESV)

God wants us to open and use our spiritual gifts to impact His work on earth!

Whatever gift you have received, it is important and God wants to use it to impact people. 

My Executive Assistant Patty helps me keep track of people’s birthdays so I can send a birthday greeting card. She has the gifts of administration and helps. When someone thanks us for remembering their birthday, it gives her joy to see the fruit of her labors.

It doesn’t matter what your gift is, you will see impact and that will bring joy!

• You might have the gift of shepherding and find joy in caring for people.

• You might have the gift of evangelism and love seeing people come to faith in Jesus.

• If you have the gift of leadership, you’ll love leading a group to effectiveness and productivity.

It’s the same with any of the spiritual gifts.

For two sites with listings of spiritual gifts and helpful explanations click HERE or  HERE. Both these sites also have a spiritual gifts inventory to help you discover your spiritual gifts.

In conclusion, if you are a Christian, God has given you a gift that you should use to bless others and thereby be blessed (1 Peter 4:10). 

Don’t be timid, but don’t be prideful either. Just discover, open and use your gift to humbly serve the Lord and bless others. In doing so you will find joy. 

PLEASE NOTE: Facebook and other social media are quite random. You might or might see my next article. But email is reliable. Please subscribe to my updates via email so you won’t miss any of these articles, podcasts or videos.