CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 765

“Comfort”

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV)     Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

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Many of us are going through or know someone who is going through some very trying times.  On any given day we encounter and cross paths with the unemployed, the working poor, single parents, hungry children, the homeless, the addicted, the elderly, people trying to deal with dwindling fixed incomes, loss of pensions or retirement income, widows and widowers adjusting to life alone after decades of marriage, those battling cancers or other debilitating illnesses and the list goes on and on.

It is difficult for some people in such situations to receive comfort from others who cannot relate to their situation.  It is also difficult to know how to give comfort to others experiencing these trials unless we have ‘walked a mile in their shoes’ ourselves.  I believe God allows His children to face such trials in this life for the express purpose of preparing us to reach out to others in His Name, with His comfort that we ourselves received from Him.

We sometimes talk about being under great pressure as Paul wrote to the church at Corinth and we use the phrase ‘it brought me to my knees’.  In a way, being brought to our knees in such periods of our life is a good thing.  It is from that ‘prayer perspective’ that we can call out to God in praise and worship.  That is when the God of all comfort will come near and comfort us as only He can.

… We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God …He has delivered us…On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. – 2 Corinthians 1:8-11     

It is also when we are ‘under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure’ that the enemy of our souls is quick to prompt us to curse God and question His love as he did when Job was going through a difficult time.  This is where the prayers lifted up on behalf of others are a powerful weapon against the enemy.  Never underestimate the power of ‘prayer cover’ for those who are at their most vulnerable moments of despair and sorrow.

If you are being brought to your knees under the pressure of life, call out to God and know that He will be there to wrap you in His love, peace and comfort.  If you know someone going through a difficult time that you yourself have been delivered through, pray for them and be there to bring them the comfort that the Lord brought to you.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. – 2 Thessalonians 2:16

Close in prayer, thanksgiving & dedication of your work to the glory of God.