A Prayer and a Hope

Was reading in Psalms this morning and something hit me about both King David and prayer and the book of Psalms.

Also the following words from a song by Danny Gokey "Hope in Front of Me" were in my thoughts as I woke up as well.

I've been running through rain
That I thought would never end
Trying to make it on faith
In a struggle against the wind
I've seen the dark and the broken places
But I know in my soul
No matter how bad it gets
I'll be alright

There's hope in front of me
There's a light, I still see it
There's a hand still holding me
Even when I don't believe it
I might be down but I'm not dead
There's better days still up ahead
Even after all I've seen
There's hope in front of me

There's a place at the end of the storm
You finally find
Where the hurt and the tears and the pain
All fall behind

Consider that the Psalms are not just to have been sung as you see in the pre-chapter notes. 

These are the thoughts of King David. He was known as a man after God's own heart.  The honesty, the deep emotions, the brutal truth in David's heart is found in those pages.  Go back and read them again when you say you don't know what or how to pray.  There's hundreds of examples of expressions of David's heart in all kinds of situations.

We strive in this world for what seems like an eternity to us, depending on the crisis of the moment.   Look again at your heart. Where is it in relationship to God?

Look around you at all that is happening.  So much of this world seems like barely constrained chaos.  Like all it would take is a stiff breeze and a wildfire of incalculable proportions would wipe out everything.

Where's the hope?

Glad you asked.

Without Jesus there is no hope.

Whether or not you, personally, choose to believe it, it really is Jesus's way or the highway to Hell.   There's no middle ground.  No other destinations.  In the path before you in life you are either saved and headed to Heaven or not saved and will be in Hell.  

The amazing part is the way and means to not go to Hell are free.  The Choice is yours to make.  Oh, and it's an inescapable choice.  It's a choice you DO make before you die. 
"But I didn't choose!"  Yes, you did.  Indecision belongs to Satan.  That you refuse the free gift of Salvation is a choice.  With only two options, that makes it a decision.

Life can be rough, it can be beyond rough.  But it's oh so much worse when you do not have Jesus in your life.  In Christ we have hope.  His promises have never been broken.  In comparison, every promise of Satan has been broken. 

In Christ we see beyond what is seen and know that God is ever present no matter what the circumstances. 

Danny Gokey's song is a strong one.

Satan loves to beat us when we are down.  Tries to make us believe we deserve the bad news. The problems we face.  The dreariness of our current time on this planet. No. That's a lie.

There is hope in front of me.
That hope that always has a hand on my shoulder.  That hope that brings a timely word just when I need it.  That hope that delivers is Jesus Christ.

So two things today...find a new, better way to pray...do that and it will change your perception and priorities in your prayers.  It will give rise to hope in your life in ways you never dreamed possible.

A broken heart? A bad day? A betrayal of another? Fix your eyes on Jesus.  Pray as David wrote bear your heart to God in prayer and you will find the peace you have been looking for all along.