Prayer In Pain For Rest

I call to You from the ends of the earth when my heart is without strength. Lead me to a rock that is high above me.

-Psalm 61:2

Photo: Pixabay

Sometimes it feels like God is distant.  The truth is that God is always near, even when we do not know it.  I feel distant from God when my heart is weak.

What should I do, and how should I pray?

We are always weak, and it is a mistake to play 'Superman' or 'Superwoman'.  The Superman thing is a problem I have had.  We are human, have limits, and always need to get our rest.  With exhaustion, comes this illusion that God is distant.

When I am exhausted, weak, or feel overwhelmed, how should I pray and what should I do?  I need to rest, rest in God.  Even if I am in the middle of something and cannot completely rest physically, I can rest on the inside.

On the way to getting rest, to sitting down or laying down; we call out to God.  The point being, that it is advisable to call out and pray when we are upset and need to rest in him.  We are calling out with our heart cry from the immediate need we feel, and then wisdom calls us to rest in the Lord.

The mistake would be to feel overwhelmed, then feel like and begin to believe that God is distant, and stop there.  Another error is to call out to God; but then not rest in God.  The immediate distress we feel needs to lead to rest as we say, "Lead me to a rock that is high above me."  For me, I need this reminder.

We can be so focused on our pain, our feelings, our immediate situation; and turning to prayer, we just want immediate relief or some breakthrough.  But the answer in resting in the Lord, who is our refuge and tower of safety, and place of rest.