Lord, Teach us to Pray

Sometimes we're begging, God, please tell me what to do. And He answers, Pray.
Our response is, But  I want to do something. His response is, Pray.
We decide that we'll just go ahead and throw our hands in. We'll fix this situation, we'll fill this need, and God will bless it because we have the right intentions.
God is whispering, I have a better plan if you will just pray. But we press on.

Before we know it we're knee deep in stress and exhaustion, feeling completely overwhelmed and depleted. We question God, Why do I feel this way when I'm doing Your work? And He continues to urge us to pray.

We push on, we keep going until we no longer have the physical or mental capacity. We begin to resent the work of a Christian and ask God in frustration, If this is for good why is it so hard? And He gently answers, Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matt. 11:28). Just Pray.

Maybe we get angry and quit the good work. We get angry and quit talking to God, even to tell Him our frustrations. We go for weeks or months without acknowledging God at all. We begin to feel lonely and forgotten.
We turn to the wrong things for comfort, for companionship, for direction; TV shows, food, shopping, alcohol, relationships both good and bad.

Our crutches eventually begin to break beneath the weight of our dependency. They were never meant to carry us, that is what the cross of Christ is for.

Slowly the world around us crumbles, the rug is pulled out from under our feet, and we find ourselves collapsing onto bruised and beaten knees.

Jesus, I need You. I need You more than ever. I don't know what happened, how I drifted so far. But I want to come back. I need come back. Forgive me. Please. I'll trust You. I'll trust what You tell me to do. I'll wait until You tell me to move. I'll be faithful. I just don't want to feel this way any longer. 

And do you know what happens? Jesus lovingly accepts us back into His arms. He has been patiently waiting right here where we left Him. He has been waiting patiently for us to pray.

What if we had prayed in the beginning? What if we had fallen on bruised knees in humility and trusted that God loves us unconditionally and He truly knows what is best?

One of the best pieces of advice my Mom ever gave was this: When you make a mistake, you can punish yourself for weeks or months, but you know you're eventually going to ask God to forgive you and learn to move forward. Why not save Yourself all of that pain and just go ahead and ask God to forgive you so that the healing process can begin now?

I have found this to be so true. No matter what the situation is the answer is always prayer. When I don't know what direction to take, when I feel like nothing is happening, when I feel helpless to help, the answer is always prayer. The answer is always Jesus.

We can try to get by without it, but in the end, we will always run to prayer. Why not run now? Why not run first?

Whether the question is will this struggle never end? or how can I represent you more? God's response is always Prayer. Closeness and relationship with Him. The better you know Him the more You trust Him because He always proves faithful and capable in every situation.
Run. Kneel. Repent. Believe.
Pray.

"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts...Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you (James 4:8&10 HCSB)."

" Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.( 1 Pet. 5:6-7 HCSB)."