Do You Feel Overwhelmed as You Pray? 3 Reasons Not to Lose Heart

Samantha has been praying for her prodigal for seventeen years—not seven, seventeen. On good days, she prays in faith. On bad days, she feels like giving up.

Andrew listens to fellow church members as they share a tsunami of prayer needs during a prayer meeting, and a wave of hopelessness washes over him. So much sickness, heartache, and pain. 

Jennie’s prayer list includes friends battling life-threatening illnesses, lost loved ones, and a challenging marriage. She struggles to pray in faith. Why doesn’t God just fix everything? Why does life have to be so hard?

Praying people feel this angst. We look at our sick and broken world and wonder if it’s beyond repair. Are some people so far gone that God can’t reach them? Is cancer so powerful, are relationships so broken, are situations so complicated that they’re beyond hope? If nothing is too hard for God, why doesn’t He fix everything?

He will—one day. 

Until then, we must continue to pray in faith for His will to be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven.

Take Heart 

Take heart, weary prayer warrior. When our feelings overwhelm us and the trials of life threaten to drown us, we can look to the unchanging truths of the Bible for strength and hope.

Let’s consider three reasons to pray in faith and not lose heart.

Truth #1: God Sees

If there ever was a woman who felt unseen, marginalized, and abandoned, it was Hagar. The maidservant of Sarah, Hagar was in no position to defend herself against her master and mistresses’ mistreatment. As she collapsed in the desert while her only son languished near death, she wept (Gen. 21:8–21). 

And God heard her.

He met her in her place of need, promised to care and provide for her, and gave her hope for the future. 

He will do this for us when we cry out to Him. We may feel unseen or uncared for, but God notices every prayer we whisper and every tear that falls (Psalm 56:8). Even in the most desperate circumstances, we are never out of reach of God’s care and protection.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:7–10 ESV)

Pray on. God sees.

Truth #2: God Cares

In the depths of a trial, we sometimes wonder if God cares. Does it matter to Him that your cat is dying of kidney failure or your husband isn’t speaking to you? That your best friend betrayed you and your gas tank is empty? 

Doesn’t He have bigger problems to deal with?

I suspect one of the reasons Jesus, the Son of God, took on human form and lived among us was to prepare Him to be our faithful intercessor. Because He spent thirty-three years on the earth, He can not only sympathize with us, He can empathize with us. He understands the gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, faith-trying challenges of living in this fallen world. 

He wept at the tomb of a friend (John 11). He experienced the pain of betrayal (Matt. 26:47–48). He watched friends walk away (John 6:66). Because He endured these earthly experiences, we can never say to God, “You don’t understand.” 

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

Pray on. God cares.

Truth #3: God Will Act

We may wonder how or when God will act in response to our prayers, but we can be sure, He will act. Not only act, but act wisely, mercifully, and faithfully.

  • Because He is sovereign, He will accomplish His will for our life.

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2 ESV)

  • Because He is wise and loving, He will do what’s best for us and those we love.

We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. 
(Romans 8:28–29 ESV)

  • Because He is faithful, He will meet our deepest needs. 

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11 ESV)

  • Because He is powerful, nothing is too hard for Him.

Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear. (Isaiah 59:1 ESV)

  • Because His timing is perfect, we can trust Him.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness.
(2 Peter 3:9 ESV)

Jesus had a long talk with His disciples. Luke captured it in the seventeenth chapter of his gospel. He recorded Jesus’ words about temptations and trespasses, the power of faith, the sick who need healing, and the events of the future. Then He told them a parable about their need to pray and not lose heart. 

He knew we’d grow overwhelmed and weary. That we’d wonder if our prayers mattered. He knew the cares of this world would sometimes overwhelm us.

He spoke these words to encourage His disciples and to encourage us:

“Will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily” (Luke 18:7–8 ESV).

Pray on, beloved warrior, for justice, for help, for hope. 

God sees. God cares. And God will act.

You can trust Him.

Learn to think biblically about life’s difficulties with Enduring Trials & Suffering, the third in our Biblical Help for Real Lifes series of online events. Join guests Colleen Chao, Katherine Wolf, Ray & Jani Ortlund, and host Erin Davis tonight at 7 p.m. (EST) for an infusion of grace and biblical perspective on this important topic. 

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