Are you desperate for God? Have your trials left you withered up, starved for love, and feeling all alone? Do you wonder if God is mad at you? Call out to God in your desperation! He will regard and not despise your prayer. There is hope in the saving Name of Jesus! God’s answers are on the way!
Psalm 102 in the Bible describes the prayer of an afflicted man when he was overwhelmed and poured out his complaint before the LORD. Verses 1-13 say:
“Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee. Hide not Thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily. For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth. My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread. By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin. I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping. Because of Thine indignation, and Thy wrath: for Thou has lifted me up, and cast me down. My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. But Thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and Thy remembrace unto all generations. Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time is come. (King James Version)
Are you desperate for God? Pour out your heartaches and complaints to the LORD respectfully. He sees and knows everything you are feeling anyway, but He wants to hear your voice because it is sweet to Him. Song of Solomon 2:14 says, “O my dove, that are in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.” Your face is a welcome, beautiful sight to the Lord! Hebrews 4:16 says, ‘Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. This psalmist above was in time of need. He pleaded with God not to hide His face from him when he was in trouble. He begged God to incline His ear to him and to answer speedily when he called. You can pray the same to God when you come in the Name of His only begotten Son, Jesus.
Like this psalmist, do you feel like your days are consumed like smoke? That your bones are burned up as a firepit or fireplace? Is your heart smitten and withered like grass so you forget to eat? Are you groaning and feel spiritually emaciated or anorexic in heart? Are you feeling all alone like a pelican of the wilderness, an owl of the desert, or a sparrow alone upon the housetop? Are your angry enemies persecuting you all day long? Are you in mourning constantly, as in eating ashes like bread? Are you mingling your beverages with weeping? Do you feel like God is disciplining you with painful circumstances? Do you feel like the sun is setting on your once-happy life? Do you feel withered like grass? Are you desperate for God? My friend, there is still hope! God is always there for you! Come to Him with a humble, repentant heart! He will arise and have mercy, not only on Zion, Jerusalem, but He will also have compassion on you! His favor is upon you when you yield your life to Him and believe that Jesus Christ died on a cross about 2,000 years ago to pay the penalty for your wrongdoings and those of every human.
In verses 16-20 of the same chapter, Psalm 102, we read this wonderful news:
When the LORD shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD. For He hath looked down from the height of His sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth; To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death….
Are you desperate for God? Zion is another word for Jerusalem. God will bless and build up Jerusalem. This promise is for all of God’s people, whether or not you are a Jew. He will hear your prayer when you feel destitute! He will not despise your prayer! This promise is for you, generations after this was written. You will praise the Lord for all He has done for you! He will come to help you! He sees you from heaven, and truly He is everywhere, too. He sees the suffering on earth, your suffering. He hears your groans when you feel a prisoner to circumstances. In some way, He will deliver you when you feel doomed to death!
Verses 24-28 of the same chapter Psalm 102 say:
I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: Thy years are throughout all generations. Of old Thou has laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years shall have no end. The children of Thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before Thee.
Are you desperate for God? God will have mercy on you. He is always there for you. He never sleeps. He never leaves you unread. He is never too busy to hear your cry. He created the earth and the universe. They will perish one day before He creates new ones, but He Himself will endure. God will never change from being Love. We are told “…for God is love” in 1 John 4:8. Our loving God will help His children who cry out to Him every time! He will help your children, too!
Are you desperate for God? Psalm 103 has many very encouraging promises for those who put their trust in God through His Son Jesus. Verses 1-14 say:
Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made know His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will He keep His anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth His children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.
We can bless God with our praises, even before our answers come. We certainly need to praise and thank Him when the answers do come. Let us not forget all of God’s benefits. That can be easy to do in the midst of a painful trial; but reminding ourselves of God’s goodness and thanking Him for being who He is will uplift us! What are the benefits of His goodness? We see in this passage that He forgives all our iniquities, or wrongdoings! God does not want to bash you with a club for your faults and mistakes! He wants you to come to Him for forgiveness! He will remove your sins as far as the east is from the west, infinitely gone!
Are you desperate for God? He promises in this passage to heal all your diseases! This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible! He has healed so many of my diseases, such as partial deafness and severe acute laryngitis! You may pray and pray and wait on God. Time may pass, and symptoms may increase. But if you are God’s child, the time will come, either on this earth or in heaven, when your diseases will all be healed! Hallelujah!
God redeems your life from destruction! He crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies. Oh, that sounds so good! How wonderful to be held in the arms of Jesus in your heart! How wonderful it will be one day to be with Him bodily!!! I can hardly wait!!! God gives us good things to eat, renewing our youth like the eagle’s. Eagles shed their feathers and emerge fresh and new with new feathers. God has been renewing my youth like the eagle’s with healthy food, supplements, good water, and exercise. More importantly, He renews our youth like the eagle’s in our hearts, giving us strength to continue running our races to win His approval and the reward of ruling in His kingdom with Him when He splits the eastern sky and returns to rule. Best of all will be being with God the Father and Jesus Christ in person in heaven!!!
Are you desperate for God? Oppressed by the devil and people? God will execute righteousness and judgment on your behalf and deliver you! Get close to God like Moses who knew God’s ways. Don’t be just like children of Israel who only knew His acts. Because of Jesus’ shed blood on the cross, the way into the holiest place in heaven has been made available to you! The veil in the heavenly Temple separating us from God is rent! Hebrews 10:19-22 enjoins us,
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water….
Are you desperate for God? Psalm 103 above tells us that the LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He is not quick-tempered and ready to explode in anger at you. We are in the age of grace. He will forgive you if you ask, no matter how bad your past or present is. There is no sin too great or too horrible for Him to forgive. The debt to God for every sin that ever was or will be committed was all paid by Jesus on the cross! Thank God that Jesus came back alive; and His resurrection from the dead, never to die again, is also the guarantee of the forgiveness of your, sins when you ask God! God pities you like a father if you fear, or respect, Him. He remembers our frame, our weak human bodies that are made of the dust of the ground like our ancestor, Adam. God remembers that we are made of dust.
Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Some people think they are good enough on their own to go to heaven. They think they deserve heaven and don’t need fixing. We see here in Romans 3:23 that all of us have sinned. We fall short of the glory of God. None of us can go to heaven by trying to be good enough. Thank God for our Savior Jesus Christ who is good enough for us. If we trust in Him for forgiveness for our sins, He will surely save us and take us to heaven! He will come into our hearts with His love, become our righteousness, and prepare us to enjoy heaven with Him! He will help us with our problems on earth as well and give us these many blessings we discussed!
Are you desperate for God? John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God the Father and Jesus, also God, love you so much!!! More than anyone! Go to Him for salvation and for help with life’s struggles. He is always there for you! Don’t wait for your death bed to pray to Him. That opportunity may not come. You could die instantly before you have that chance. Talk to Him reverently and honestly.
Are you desperate for God? If you have never given your heart and life to Jesus, you can pray this prayer or something similar: “Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for me about 2,000 years ago. Please forgive me for the wrongs I have done. Come into my heart, and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Make me more like You. Help me live for You, and take me to heaven. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.” If you just prayed that for the first time, please let me know below. You can also send me this and other comments and prayer requests on my Contact page.
Are you desperate for God? God bless you! Here is my favorite poem I wrote. You can find it in my poetry booklet Journey To The Promised Land, Poem #22, on my website. I will reprint it here for you. Even though I shared it in a recent blog, I felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to share it again today. After the poem, you will find two encouraging songs. Peace be to you in Jesus’ Name! Help is on the way!
22. With Me To Be One
My Lord, I am hurting and dying inside
I’m craving Your comfort, to in You abide
I feel anorexic in heart and in soul
I need You to feed me, restore me to whole
My bones I can see while they cleave to my skin
I’m starving for love, and I’m wasting within
My bowels are clinging to dust of the earth
The hunger pains raging because of this dearth
I’m parched to the core, my tongue sticks to its roof
While others don’t notice, and friends stand aloof
I’m crippled with sorrow and pierced by neglect
And wilted with longing, by loneliness wrecked
I’m desp’rate for You, Lord, I need You today
To nurture my heart, take this anguish away
Please feed me and fill me and quench all my thirst
I come to You empty and place You as first
And then I discover Your presence is near
You know all my agony, see every tear
Your heart, too, was broken and pierced through with grief
You know more than any how to bring relief
Your being was famished; Your tongue was, too, dried
So bitterly lonely, with anguish You cried
You, Shepherd, were stricken, and all Your sheep fled
By stripes of rejection and nails of hate bled
They stripped off Your clothing and gambled to win
While You hung there watching and paid for their sin
Your priests stood there mocking, increasing Your pain
Not knowing their Passover Lamb was being slain
The thieves also taunted and railed at You, too
Though they justly punished, but innocent You
For thirst they gave vinegar, sponge on a stick
Insulting, impersonal, mocking, a trick
You cried to Your Father, but He looked away
To punish You, Lamb, for us sheep gone astray
Your day turned to night; and the sky grew black, too
How could it rejoice with the death You went through?
The veil of the temple by God torn in two
Your body the curtain that tore also, too
You “Father, My spirit receive” loudly cried
And then with this precious plea, willing died
My Lord, I am speechless, know not what to say
To thank You for suffering for me that day
My speech is too shallow, my heart is too small
To fathom Your love and to take in it all
My sorrows, afflictions, sins, hunger, and loss,
My death—all You took when You died on the cross
Was not just for others, but specially for me
That day when You suffered and died on a tree
To have me forever, to have as Your wife
To heal me and love me, to be all my life
My sorrows are small when I think of Your pain
Though through them discernment of Your love I gain
You want me, a cripple, to You matters not
Could never be diff’rent, Your cripple You bought
My heartaches, paralysis—staging for Love
As You draw me closer and take me above
My heart’s deepest longings You placed inside me
Because it delights You to satiate me
You never are selfish, You’re lowly in heart
It thrills You Your tenderness to me…impart
I never could earn You, Your worth has no end
Could only adore You and love You, my Friend
Could never repay You, and wouldn’t dare try
Can only surrender and hungrily cry
I need You, dear Jesus, I want You so much
I long for Your tenderness, ache for Your touch
I’m bitterly homesick and so lovesick, too
I’m pining to have You, at last to see You
Then sweetly You show me my hunger for Thee
But palely reflects all Your longing for me
The reason I’m hungering for You, the Son:
You deeply are longing with me to be one
I love this encouraging song from Tauren Wells called “Trenches”:
This is an encouraging song by Toby Mac, “Help Is On The Way”: