For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah. For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.  Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.

When times of pain and sorrow come, these verses can be a wonderful source of comfort for us. As we go through the ups and downs of life we know God is with us. Here, the Psalmist follows God with a calm and quiet submission, even as the storms of life rage around him. David resigned within himself to give everything up to God. The one who gives himself fully to God hopes and trusts knowing that God will never fail him. How deeply do you trust in God? Will you pour out your heart before Him and let Him be your refuge?

Prayer is a great blessing and a source of comfort for those who have a relationship with God. We must always be mindful of the nature of our relationship with God. He does not exist to be our servant, we exist to be God’s servant. God is our Father, not our servant. We must never approach Him as though it is His obligation to do as we instruct Him to do. We did not make God, He made us. We are subject to His will and need to be praying for His purposes to be carried out. If we only use prayer as a vehicle to have God carry out our wants and interests, we do not understand the nature of God or our relationship with Him. God is not dependent upon us, we are dependent upon Him. For everything. Nothing in this life can come to pass without Him.

There are many things that happen to us in life that we do not understand. We have a limited viewpoint. God is all knowing and is able see the entire picture. When we pray and do not receive an answer that we want, it can be tempting to turn on God and become angry with Him. Isaiah wrote, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts,” Isaiah 55.8-9. Never conclude that when terrible things happen in your life that God is not at work. He is always there and always cares for us. He is not causing the terrible things; He is working through those things to advance your relationship with Him. When we go through the most trying times in life, God is doing His most powerful work. When we go to God in prayer, we must approach Him with praise and thanksgiving for who He is, and humbly take our request to Him. Then, we need to accept His answer with gratitude and give the glory to God. “Where there is prayer, there is power, and where there is worship, there is hope.”

During September, the Christians at Kettering Church of Christ are focusing on prayer. We are praying for our congregation, our families, the elderly, young people, and our efforts on reaching those in our community with the gospel. Can we pray for you? Can we help you begin your relationship with Christ? We want to encourage you to visit our services tomorrow. You will be warmly welcomed and find a place where God is the focus of worship. Come and see.

Download PDF of Article

Israel pursued the east wind continually. Feeding on the wind and pursing the east wind were symbolic language describing actions that were made in vain. An east wind was often associated with destruction. It was never good. This was a nation that was going to be destroyed because of its lies and violence. No thought was given to God. Beginning at the end of verse two, God reminds His people of Jacob. Hosea recalls that Jacob took hold of his brother Esau by the heel in the womb. Later, Jacob would wrestle with an angel and prevail. Jacob sought God and found Him. Jacob’s experience at Bethel was spiritual. It moved him closer to God and it is where he began a real, meaningful relationship with God. It is at Bethel where Jacob was given the name “Israel.” The point of reminding the people of Jacob is that if they would approach God in prayer they could experience the same blessings Jacob enjoyed. They needed to look to God. Therefore, return to your God, Observe kindness and justice, and wait for your God continually, 12:6. If the people would just return God would relent from His certain destruction and punishment on the nation. Even to the last possible moment, God holds out for the repentance of those He loves.

We started our day early. All of us have busy schedules. When we leave the house each day, it may be as late as 9 or 10 PM before all four of us are back together at home. So, in order to do Pray Without Ceasing together as a family devotional, we have set aside a few minutes each morning. Not all of us are morning people (in fact I’m the only morning person in our family), but so far it has gone pretty well. I had Zack read the scripture, and Emilea read the teaching. Then, all of us talked about how we could do the action items for that day.

I found the notes section on the back of the card extremely useful. Here are some of the things our family came up with to increase the strength of our prayer life:

Becky suggested we each start a “prayer journal,” writing down who and what we pray for. We talked about the need to look for opportunities to express our thankfulness to God about the things in life we take for granted. And, we made a commitment to follow through and do this devotional each morning as a family.

If you are not a member at the Kettering Church, but would like to follow along with each day’s devotional, you can access Pray Without Ceasing online. Join us as we spend 28 days developing a more powerful prayer life!