By Dr. Jack Graham
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us (Psalm 62:8).
It is often in the very toughest of times and trials that God brings us to a crisis of faith, and it’s through that experience that we begin to pray. I’ve heard it said: “When you’re swept off your feet, get on your knees.”
I experienced such a time in 2009 when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Me—a relatively young guy in excellent health with energy to spare. I never imagined that the word cancer would be attached to my life. And yet it was.
While I made it through surgery without incident, recovery nearly did me in. I was exhausted. I was fearful. I was weak and despondent. I wondered if I would ever get better.
For many months, I prayed to God for healing and for hope. Meanwhile, week after week, I crawled into the pulpit to deliver my weekly sermon, sustained by the prayerful persistence that connected my heart to God’s.
Strangely, during this time of pain and weakness, more than any other point in my life, I became utterly convinced of the power of prayer. Though I was wobbly and wounded, the more I pursued interaction with my heavenly Father, the more divine strength I sensed in my life. The more I knocked on the doors of heaven, the more I found God ready and willing to carry the burden I bore.
Whatever broken conditions you are facing today—in your marriage, your home, your family, through a child who’s wandered away, or the collapse of a career—it is so often pain that drives us to dependence upon God.
How many times through our pain do we discover our purpose? How many times through our pain do we discover power? 2 Corinthians 12:9 reminds us that God’s grace is sufficient and that His power is made perfect through our weaknesses.
I’ve always love the definition of prayer as “linking our nothingness to God’s almightiness.” When we’re wrestling our way through tragedy or wringing our hands over a cupboard that’s bare, God says, “It is I who can supply what you need. Just come to Me and ask.”
With God, all of your cares will be cared for. All that is His will be yours. Through prayer you can experience the delightful nearness of God and lean into His warm embrace.
Today, stay before God in prayer until He communicates with your spirit. Surrender your weaknesses to Him and exchange them for supernatural strength.
Dr. Jack Graham serves as Pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, one of the largest and most dynamic churches in the country.
This article was originally published in “Lord, Hear Our Cry” by Dr. Jack Graham. If you are interested in receiving a free copy of “Lord, Hear Our Cry,” please contact Jack Raymond at [email protected].