CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 886

“God of All Comfort”

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. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Where do you turn for comfort? People have a variety of sources of comfort – some we grow out of and others stay with us all of our lives. Comfort sources can be blankets, stuffed animals, pets, and food. In extreme cases, people escape the reality of their circumstances seeking a temporary comfort through drugs and alcohol.

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (John 14:16, KJV)

Jesus was the source of comfort for His disciples while He was with them. After His ascension into heaven and following Pentecost the disciples received the Holy Spirit – the Comforter to abide in them. We too, as Christians born again by the Spirit of God derive comfort from God through the abiding presence of His Holy Spirit.

Afflictions, trials, and difficulties affect us all in life this side of eternity. Trouble does not discriminate between the Christian and the non-Christian. The difference between our ability to make it through difficult times is our source of strength and hope. Those who are of the world struggle in their own strength, relying on the shallow and temporary help and comfort derived from the things of this world – many cannot sustain the effort and give up.

For the Christian, born-again by the Spirit of God, the trials of life shape our character for a purpose that God may or may not reveal at the time. We draw on the eternal depths of grace and hope from the abiding presence of God in order to persevere through the trial. Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord…Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6) We make it through by the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, and not by our strength of will or the shallow comfort derived from the things of this world.

May the Holy Spirit abide in you as you abide in Him. May the God of all comfort encourage your heart with hope as He takes you into a deeper and more intimate relationship of love and trust in Him. May the Holy Spirit equip you to comfort those in need of His comfort as He pours God’s love through you to them having prepared you beforehand to be His vessel by the light and momentary difficulties He has brought you through. (2 Corinthians 4:17)