Email 
Bookmark 
Print The Hardest Prayers Ever Prayed
by Lynette J. Hoy, NCC, LCPCHave you ever felt like you wanted to give up on a certain situation or person? Or that forgiving someone was too hard? Or that life was just too difficult, frightening, or sad? Have you ever thought that God didn't care about you? Or that prayer really didn't make a difference in your case, in your world, for your problems? Has it ever seemed like God was making you suffer for some reason and that even if you did cry out to him, he wasn’t listening?
You are not alone
When I was 12 years old, my parents got divorced. I cried out to God, Lord, fill the emptiness inside me! The loneliness, feelings of abandonment, and fear were overwhelming after my Dad left. Life was scary. I rarely saw Dad, and we had difficulty living solely on my mom's income. I struggled with feelings of emptiness. This painful event left me with a deep sense of insecurity in the world and triggered longings for peace, security, God and eternity. Pascal wrote, "There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man." I felt that God-shaped vacuum. That described me to a T.
Though I knew about Christ from many Sunday school stories, I felt far from Him. I believed the Bible stories I had learned, but I didn't really know Jesus personally. At that time I realized I was a sinner in need of a Savior, and that having head knowledge about Jesus wasn't enough to save me or make me right before God. I discovered that I needed to commit my life to Him and trust Him personally as my Savior and Lord. Taking that step turned my life around. I felt immediate and supernatural peace about life and the future because I knew that I could trust God to help me face the future and that He had a plan for my life.
Life has not been a bowl of cherries since then. Though I have experienced tremendous joy since turning my life over to Christ, I have also continued to face turbulence - surgery, infertility, financial upheaval, loss of loved ones - when prayers to accept God's will in my life were necessary to experience His peace in the midst of trouble.
It may surprise you that similar cries of desperation appear in the Bible. Jesus himself felt some of the desperate feelings you and I have felt at times. He prayed some of the most challenging, heart-rending prayers found in Scripture. He had questions, and he had circumstances that felt utterly beyond his ability.
From Jesus' life we can also learn to forgive those who have wounded us and thus be freed from bitterness.
How could Jesus forgive and ask His Father to forgive those who put Him to death? Because He is the Savior. He is God, and He can forgive. His death paid the price for those sins, and He knew that in three days He would rise from the dead, triumphing over sin and death. Lord, help me to forgive those who have caused me great harm just as You did.
My dad had physically and verbally abused me. It was difficult to forgive and forget the wounds he had inflicted on me as a child and then his abandonment during my teen years after the divorce. But I prayed that Christ's love would pour through me to him and that God would someday save him. I knew he was a sinner and that only the Savior could change his life. God somehow gave me an unconditional love and forgiveness for my dad. Though he would taunt me about my faith, it was so obvious that he greatly needed my Savior. Years later I discovered that a former Bible college dean led my dad to Christ just a few weeks before he died.
How can you find peace and joy in turbulent times? By relying on the promises of Christ and beginning a personal relationship with Him.
Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27). When we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we will experience His peace in our lives. You can know this peace today.
You can know peace and hope tonight.
There is a line in an old hymn that says "Let there be peace in the world and let it begin with me." Whether that means peace on a worldwide scale or peace in your own heart, it can begin with you right now. John 3:16 tells us that God loves the world so much that He sent Jesus, His only Son, to die for us so that everyone who believes in Him can have everlasting life.
You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here's a suggested prayer:
Lord, I need you now more than ever. I want your peace of mind. In the midst of my broken heart and my pain, I turn to you. Jesus, I ask you to forgive my sins and to give me your peace and comfort. I open the door of my life and put my trust in you.
If you sincerely expressed that prayer to God, you can know that you have a personal relationship with Him. He will be your comfort in these troubled times. God promises us "peace that passes understanding" in other words peace in a world that doesn't make sense. You can know peace and hope even when your world is in turmoil. God does not change. Ever.
~ Lynette J. Hoy, is a marriage and family counselor, speaker, writer and the Chicagoland Chair of Community and Business Women for Christ.
Her newly released book, What's Good About Anger? can be ordered online at:www.whatsgoodaboutanger.com or Amazon.com. Visit Mrs. Hoy's other sites: www.hoyweb.com, www.counselcareconnection.org, www.cbwc.net, www.lifecareweb.com.