Don't Pray Away Trouble, Pray In It

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV — And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

What I do with difficulty is what determines whether or not I grow in the Lord. 

God isn't looking for my ability, He is looking for an open door in my heart.

Revelation 3:19-21 NKJV — “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Job had an open door in his heart in difficulty.  He was very confused, but when the Lord spoke, Job listened.  Job wanted a chance to talk to God about His difficulty and got one!

Job 23:1-7 NKJV — Then Job answered and said: “Even today my complaint is bitter; My hand is listless because of my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him, And fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which He would answer me, And understand what He would say to me. Would He contend with me in His great power? No! But He would take note of me. There the upright could reason with Him, And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

Job got much more than he bargained for in the conversation with God that eventually unfolded, but God said Job spoke the truth about God.

Most will never come speak with God in difficulty.  They would plead difficulty away, or try to get others to commiserate and "pray for" them, but that is very different than obtaining understanding from God.

I don't want to waste my life trying to avoid tribulation. No, tribulation MUST come. I want to learn how to grow in tribulation and become a man of understanding and wisdom.

John 17:14-15 NKJV — “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.

God did keep them from the evil one, though they endured much trouble and eventually martyrdom or imprisonment. Being "kept from evil" means staying faithful under pressure.

Tribulation isn't some thing to be prayed away, it is something to walk through with God.  If He says, "pray it away." So be it. But if He says, "my grace is sufficient." Then I want to embrace that.

I have to know what God is saying in my about my life, not what I would say, or am saying, to God.  Prayer is a two-way conversation where I tell Him where I am and He tells me where He is.  I then conform to Him.

Religious formulas can never do the work that abiding in God does. However, truly conversing with God will do more to make a person holy, wise and righteous than all the sacraments, works of service, and one-directional "praying" (vain trouble avoidance) that a lifetime could contain.

If my prayer life doesn't take me into peace in the midst of tribulation, opportunity, need, or lack of clarity, I'm not really hearing God, only trying to control my life out of trouble and lack... Which is how trouble comes into a life in the first place! Everything was perfect until man tried to control life and make things better for himself.

The only way to God is to find our way out of trying to control life and instead letting Him lead us through whatever He decides is best for our growth.

Matthew 13:18-23 NKJV — “Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; “yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”