Praying With The Hurting

Hey this is Mike Zwick from if not for God podcast our show stories of hopelessness turned and I hope your chosen Truth Network podcast is starting in just seconds.

Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing The Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network encouraging prayer, God offers an open invitation for his people to talk with him at any time about anything encouraging prayer Dr. James Banks, author of the best-selling and many other books on prayer provides weekly biblical insight help you learn to mom and now today on encouraging prayer wouldn't talk about something you have a lot in the Bible, but you don't hear too much about it. Take it from there. He joy with those who rejoice and mourn those who mourn part of a passage that talks about God's love into action. So today were going to talk about helping others cry if you will, when they pray praying with the hurting because I believe that as we do, that God meets us there and meet them in beautiful ways. I am so glad were going to James because when you think about what is been going on the world, especially the situation in Afghanistan.

We really do need to pray for and with our brothers and sisters.

There yes we do, Robbie. It is heartbreaking where people who don't really understand what prayer is usually say things like, well, they need more than your thoughts and prayers and yes they do need action. I get that.

The thing they miss is that prayer is powerful action to share an example from your personal experience about playing like this. Yeah, absolutely. Some years back.

The group of pastors that I belong to is meeting and opportunity to go forward and pray with other leaders in our church about any needs that you have and you know how that is kind of you to look around the room and forward or not. But this is a time when my son, my daughter were really struggling.

My son was wrestling substance abuse my daughter lost her first love for the Lord. We went forward to pray with another pastor, Keith Cobb and his wife, and they pray for us. With so much compassion so much heart for kids and they went with us, but they also have been looking for a they pray and you need that when you're grieving because all you can see is the situation in front of you and that's why it's helpful to come alongside and just love you and love God with their prayers. What God did in my son's life is been absolutely astounding. We talked about many times he went from heroin addiction to youth pastor recently cleaned out over eight years and only God can do that and I see them moving in my daughter's heart and life as well. Steps are being taken in the right direction.

As we continue to pray what happened in those moments of prayer that day were so absolutely vital like I can see why. And you're right.

I mean, you do see this in Scripture.

First of all, just the compassion of Jesus when he prayed for someone and healed them. Also in Galatians 6 where it says to bear one another's burdens write about a great example because it starts with if someone is caught in the season you live by the Spirit should restore that person gently but watch yourself. You may also be tempted to carry each other's burdens, it goes on for the whole emphasis is going to others who are in a weak place and keeping your eyes on the Lord with them and that's the beautiful thing about prayer. When we sincerely seek God from the heart trying to help others and be there for them. He really does have a way of meeting certainly did that for you guys that my son from me so many times. So let's talk about how to do this for moment showing men because we can probably all think of times when someone came for us to comfort us and meant well, but maybe said just the wrong thing about the words we as much as it is about our hearts and just going to God together. So when you pray with someone who is hurting, don't preach to them when you pray, you know, by pretending you're talking to God when you're actually sort of trying to get the messages that doesn't help enter into their grief cry with them before the Lord again weep with those who weep. If you will ask the Lord why if you don't understand.

Along with them or how long. If that's the question that's on their hearts. You see both of those questions in the Psalms, especially Psalms of lament's reminds me when I my brain abscess because I didn't know but I knew that I had a headache that was unbelievable and they had done x-ray and set out we got to get into his head right away me literally surgery and they didn't have anything to stop the pain and they put me in sort of a side room mother trying to get the emergency room surgery situation opened and a girl for my Sunday school class happened to be on duty that day and she came into my room and course.

I really was crying. I I'd I I couldn't even hardly stand any sound. Any light anything as my head was literally exploding inside of my skull so she just held my hand and in literally. It was like I was holding God's hand will never ever ever saw those things. It's like it was a God moment, God moments, like he had sent her there. Specifically, to feel God's presence in the situation and and you knew, even though no words just couldn't say anything because my head was exploding, but the prayer was going on. Believe me, that's beautiful and that's who were called to be new underwear might God be calling you will need to go to have a love for someone today and again as we do this he'll show up like you did for you that day and think of the book of Lamentations and another time of international crisis were Jeremiah my right yet this I called mine. Therefore I have hope.

I say to myself, the Lord is my portion. Therefore, I will wait for him Lord is good to those whose hope is in him to the one who seeks him.

Good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord and elsewhere.

Lamentations talks about great is his faithfulness to just love people with the love he gives as we pray as we wrap up today. I think of the right that we pray for the people of Ascot Afghanistan together right. Can we do that, let's let's like Jesus, have mercy be underpowered, important, you know, the hurting me there and we pray the power of your spirit to move for resolution of this problem to save lives, especially Lord, we pray for your church and Lord, we we pray for those who are trying to get out and I can learn. We don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you and we pray for what only you can do in Jesus name I pray also that would be Mona's people that would come up and put hands and hands since her presence know the truth. There is sure there pray that he would show up big time as you hear more from Pastor James by visiting the website James Banks.org or by visiting these church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you to pray.

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