Daily Prayer Guide - Friday April 3 - God Promises us Strength

God’s Promise of Strength – He will see us through.

Isaiah 26: 3-4

 You will keep in perfect peace

those whose minds are steadfast,

because they trust in you.

Trust in the Lord forever,

for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal

Isaiah 41:10 

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isa 40:29-31

²⁹ He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

³¹ but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

2 Cor 12

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

God promises strength to his people to face the challenges that come our way.

We can be tempted to think, ‘that’s nice, but I think I’ve got this’.  We can have confidence in ourselves, we are sure of our own understanding of how things work, and the strength of our own fortitude to press through.   We can know that strength from God is available, when I need it.  Invariably, our own strength is limited and eventually runs dry and if we don’t look to God for strength then bitterness, anger, fear and anxiety will sit in and begin to control our lives. 

There are some in our community, and maybe your one,  who that know they need God’s strength and you need it now.  Life has become overwhelming, due to illness, job loss, financial, emotional or relational strain. 

Others know of someone going through a challenge, and others haven’t experienced it themselves but know the struggle is real.  Regardless of which of these describe us, the question remains, what is our source of strength? 

In times like these we need strength beyond what we previously knew of as ‘normal’.  We need strength of character, the endurance to overcome our fears, we need more powerful faith, the strength to know that God will see us through.  We hear the news that our ‘night is not yet over’ and more challenges await us.  We need the strength to overcome the fears of the unknown and continue to press into his righteous hand and find he is the ‘rock eternal’

God has promised his strength in his word and proven his great strength over all creation.  The God who created the world by his great strength can create a way for your next step.  The God who controls gravity can strengthen the weight of your heart.  The God who demonstrates new birth by sending spring can show the grace of his strength in your weakness. 

“His strength is perfect when our strength is gone.

He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on.

Raised in His power the weak become strong.

His strength is perfect” 

~ Jerry Salley & Steven Curtis Chapman, Song Writers

Pray:

As you begin to pray today, consider how you have relied on your own source of strength to manage the challenges and uncertainties you face.  Acknowledge that and profess your trust in him.

·      Confess your need for his strength and place your trust in him

·      Thank him for his great strength that renews you today

·      Ask him to turn the attention of those you know who are in need that they might look to him and find his strength

·      Ask that by his strength the doctors and medical professionals who are working to care for those suffering.

Father, Thank you that by your great strength you overcome our weakness and renew us by your perfect peace.  Thank you that you strengthen the weary and empower the weak.  Thank you for your promise of strength for we place our trust in you.  Amen