Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac – O LORD, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’  I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps!  O LORD, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children.  But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore – too many to count.’”  (Genesis 32:9-12 NLT)

Are you in a place in your life where you don’t know where to turn? Is there a situation that has you feeling backed against a wall and there seems like no escape? Do your problems seem to be multiplying faster than rabbits reproduce?  Maybe God seems very far away and you want to pray but don’t know what to say.

Scripture records such a situation in Genesis chapter 32. Jacob was going to meet his estranged brother Esau. The incoming reports were not promising; indeed they were the opposite! Icy fear filled Jacob’s heart as he pondered the fate of himself and his family. What did Jacob do? How did Jacob pray?

First Jacob acknowledged Jehovah as His God. Jacob submitted himself to God’s authority.

Then Jacob reminded God of His promises. Praying Scripture verses can help our hearts and minds line up with God’s plan.

Jacob recognized his total dependence on God. Jacob had a humble (not demanding) spirit as he poured out his heart to God. He remembered God’s blessings. Some of the most resilient people I have met are those who can see God’s blessings in the middle of the storms of life.

Note that Jacob really shared his emotions with God —he admitted his fear and confusion. He was honest with God about his mental and emotional state.

Lastly Jacob made his request to God. Jacob prayed for God’s deliverance.

What a great prayer!  What an awesome God Who listens to our prayers, cares about us beyond our wildest imaginations and responds to the struggles that are part of our lives here on earth.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.  He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.  (Psalms 145:18-19)

Our daily lives are filled with various types of frustrations, but nothing is more frustrating than when you have an urgent need and absolutely need to reach just the right person by phone only to hear that disgusting “busy” signal – “beep, beep, beep, beep.”  Or there are those times when the call appears to be answered, and you hear – “Your call is important to us!  Please remain on the line, and we’ll get to you in the order your call was received.”   Dashed are your hopes completely when you hear, “I’m sorry the number you are calling has been disconnected.”  Even worse is when someone answers, and tells you, “Sorry, wrong number.”   And, of course there are those times when your call has gone through, but your momentary excitement is crushed with a message, “Our regular office hours are …  Please call back during our regular office hours.”  Or how about those times when someone answers and says, “Hi, this is Tom.  Please leave a message.”  It is most disconcerting when you finally get through, start to talk, and realize the call has been dropped, and you have to start all over – or that you are trying to talk and the connection is too fragile for you to be able to communicate. 

How blessed we are that our communication with God is not based on electronics, right numbers, right times, menus, order in line, or availability of someone to talk to us.  God is always available to all those that are “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).  We have direct access 100% of the time.  There are no menus, no middle men, no access codes, no dropped calls, no bad connections, no collect calls, no call waiting or messaging centers.

 God says in Jeremiah 33: 3,

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things,  which thou knowest not.

 Joyously, thankfully and in faith believing, we can join David in his prayer in Psalms 102:1 – 2

Hear my prayer, O Lord, And let my cry come to You.  Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; Incline Your ear to me; In the day that I call, answer me speedily.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.   . . . Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  (Rom.  8:26-27, 34)

There are times in our lives when we are temporarily incapable of speaking.  We’re speechless.  Maybe God has “WOWED” us with an answer to prayer and at the realization of what He did we find ourselves to be speechless.  Or maybe we’ve been rendered speechless by shock or fear.  Grief and loss can also make us unable or unwilling to speak. 

Sometimes we can even be speechless when we’re praying.  We often don’t know what exactly we should be praying for.  We don’t know what is best for us and we don’t know what the future holds.  We know in our hearts that we have questions, burdens, and heartaches for ourselves and our loved ones that are not capable of being expressed in words.  But that’s okay because even though we are speechless the Holy Spirit within us and Jesus in Heaven are effectively communicating with God on our behalf.  Take encouragement from these verses in Romans and be assured that when you’re prayers are speechless just the right words are always being prayed for you. 

O God, too weak and worn for words, I shrink
From trials that deeply wound, and yet to think
Your Holy Spirit helps me as I pray
And gives a voice to what I cannot say! -Gustafson

The Minds Renewed theme encouragement verses are Isaiah 40:28-31. Verse 28 states:

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”

Have you had times in your life when you could not understand “Why” God allowed some circumstance in your life? Or are you asking the “Why” question now? The Bible clearly shows us that God created us and loves us but also often allows things like illness, loss or death that we cannot understand. Throughout the Bible, God teaches us this principle: Although we in our human minds cannot totally understand Him and His ways, God asks us to trust and obey Him for our good and His glory. (Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 41:10, Job 42:1-6, Isaiah 55:8-9, Romans 8:28, 11:33, etc.).

Sometimes it can be very hard to trust and obey God when we are hurting and don’t understand “Why.” Psalm 62:8b states: “Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. God invites us to ask Him “Why” and share all our feelings with Him. He also promises us to be our strength if we allow Him to be. “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31. 

You are encouraged to take time today to share your heart with the Lord. Remember He knows how you are feeling whether you tell him or not.  Sharing your heart with the Lord as well as asking for His strength is for your benefit.