Prayer Challenge
28 Days of Prayer
- Praying for Help and Comfort
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me. (Psalm 86:5-7)
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)
Devotional
In the verses for today, we are told by the psalmist, “In the day of my trouble I call upon you.” Have you ever had a day of trouble? Me too. So has everyone. Jesus told us in John 16:33 that in this world we will have trouble, and He was right. When trouble strikes, where do we find help? Where do we find comfort?
Our help and our comfort are in God. He is “good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love” to all who call upon Him. In 2 Corinthians 1:3, Paul calls Him the “Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” God is not cautious or reserved in his tenderness toward you. He multiplies mercies matched to your every need, and there is nothing He would rather do for you.
One of the great Puritan theologians wrote, “Remember, that this God in whose hand are all creatures, is your Father, and is much more tender of you than you are, or can be, of yourself.” In other words, your gentlest treatment of yourself is less gentle than the way your heavenly Father feels about you and cares for you.
The mercy of God gives us unspeakable comfort as we realize that nothing can happen to us by chance, but only by the arrangement of our gracious heavenly Father, who watches over us with fatherly care, as He does all His creation, so that not even a little bird can fall to the ground without the will of our Father.
When we pray because of trouble, no one has to tell us how to pray. Either inwardly or outwardly, we are shouting for help, and God hears our prayer. Even the Holy Spirit Himself, comes to our aid and intercedes for us according to the will of God (Rom. 8:26). The lesson here is that prayer is fundamental and basic to life, especially when trouble kicks in. Follow your instinct. Cry out to God for help and comfort. And He will answer you.
Dear Father, thank you for your great love for me and for all of your family around the world. Please give us great comfort and help in our difficulties. Please keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work or watch or weep this day, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Please tend the sick, Lord Jesus, give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, and shield the joyous – all for your love’s sake. Amen.
Parent Prompt
When have you felt weak? How can we ask God for help? Do a family serving day! Make it a big deal! Talk about the importance of serving one another and how we can be the “hands and feet of Jesus” through our service to one another. Then, as a family, go out and help someone in need. Do you have a friend or neighbor who could use help with yard work? Maybe a home-cooked meal would be a great support? Or maybe you could babysit their kids (for FREE) so that they can run some errands or just have some time away. You could also look into supporting a community organization by serving there together! Whatever it is – remember the importance of modeling – and it’ll be a day filled with fun and blessing for both your family and the person you are serving! Pray for those in your life that need the help and comfort of the Lord.