Pray to God About the Problem

·       “Is there anyone among you suffering?  Let him pray” (James 5:13).  We have countless illustrations of godly men and women in the Old Testament times going to God in a time of need.  These believers poured out their hearts to God for hour at a time, (as Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane).  If we look carefully at the process and progress of these prayers, we often find that encouragement comes even during the prayer itself. The weak and distressed David in Psalm 31:9 (“Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress”) becomes the strong and encouraging David in the twenty-fourth verse of the same psalm (“Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!”).  we all have had such experiences during fervent prayer, but how soon we forget.

·       1 Corinthians 14:15

·       One of Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). Paul told us that “we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us … according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27).  When we first experience an emotional problem, we should not assume we understand the cause and pray for relief only.  We should pray first for understanding and guidance in our actions to correct the problem, whether the proper behavior is to seek further help or to correct our own behavior. Our prayers then continually evolve over time, as our understanding of the problem improves.