You Pray, But the Problem Persists?

Prayer shifts our attention from the problem to the power, from worry to the Almighty.

This powerful statement by Corrie ten Boom has stayed with me because it speaks to something we have all experienced: We pray, but the problem persists...

But listen to that statement again: Prayer shifts our attention from the problem to the power, from worry to the Almighty.

Corrie isn’t saying, “Prayer makes every problem disappear.” Rather, she says, “Prayer changes what you focus on.”

And that is exactly why you should pray today. 🤲

Not only so that your situation will change, but so that your perspective in the middle of that situation can change.

Worries have a special ability: They make themselves seem HUGE. 😜

“Those little nasty things,” I almost want to say. But it’s true, isn’t it? The longer you think about the problem, the bigger it seems. 

You start imagining everything that could happen. You look for solutions, you do the math, you overthink... and eventually, your entire field of vision consists of nothing but that problem!

Prayer, on the other hand, doesn’t make the problem smaller, but it reminds you that your God is bigger!

That’s what David recognized and declared(!) in Psalm 121: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalms 121:1-2, NIV)  

In that moment, he redirected his focus!

Though the problem had not been solved yet, he took his eyes off the problem.

You don’t have to keep thinking about your problem today either. Instead, you can lift your eyes toward heaven.

Yes, you can take your eyes off your problem, because your God wants to deliver you! (See Psalm 34:5-6, NLT)  

So, today you too can recognize and, like David, declare: “Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord” (Psalm 121:1-2)  

Amen.

You are a miracle!