Propellant Prayers - Encouragement Café - March 17

Propellant Prayers
 By Dawn Mast

Is anyone among you in trouble?  Let them pray. Is anyone happy?  Let them sing songs of praise.  Is anyone among you sick?   Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.  James 5:13-14 

There was some serious insect activity going on near the eaves of our home.  Wasps were swarming by the dozens and by the looks of it they had been extremely busy.  The nest was enormous and they were apparently just getting started.  I’m usually a big fan of construction and home improvement shows, but this piece of architecture was not one of my favorites.

I set out to demolish their carefully constructed wasp villa before a child or nosy puppy got stung. 

Fortunately, I located a can of wasp spray and the wasps and their home were soon eradicated.  It was an easy mission mostly because even though the nest was up near the roof, I could stand in the driveway and shoot a steady stream of wasp poison to the intended target.  I knew exactly what to use because the can indicated, “Shoots up to 22 feet”.  That did the trick. 

The can had something called propellant in it.  It’s something that forces the contents out and in the direction it needs to go.  We are a bit like that. 

We all have “propellant” inside us.  Maybe you will be prompted to pray because you are in some sort of  trouble. Perhaps life is joyful and things are going well and you just need to sing a song of praise to God! Thanksgiving is a blessing to His ears! Or maybe you are burdened with sickness and need to have others stand in the gap and intercede for you. 

Our prompts to pray can happen for different reasons and our motivations can spur us to a closer walk with the Lord. He may sometimes place a hurdle in our way to encourage us to pray. In that moment, it can be incredibly difficult to see the value of the obstacle. But what matters is that we take the opportunity to use that moment to propel us to pray. Sometimes a push is all we need to help us see what the Lord is trying to show us.     

Some days it may be hard to pray because you are burdened and distracted by the problems that hold you down. In the hardest moment just use a few words. Tell the Lord you need Him, that you trust Him to help and that you thank Him for knowing what you need. The telling, trusting and thanking may be all you can handle at a heavy, stressful time, but God will take it from there. Whatever propels you to speak to God is enough. Just get the conversation started. 

Father God, thank You for hearing me when I call to You and for knowing what I need. I put my burdens into Your strong, capable hands and I ask that You intercede when I can’t find the words to say. Sometimes my heart feels tired and heavy and I just need to sit wordless in Your presence. In those moments, please propel me to draw close to You and trust You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

For more encouragement, visit Dawn at www.thatdawnedonme.wordpress.com.

© 2020 by Dawn Mast.  All rights reserved.

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