A Prayer for Revealing Jesus When Feeling Great Stress

Scotty Smith

Scotty Smith Blog | July 11, 2012

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 2 Cor. 4:7-10

(I write these prayers for all of us. Sometimes I wake up and feel very strongly about writing a prayer that will help friends or loved ones find a voice to say what's in their hurting or disconsolate heart. Today is just such a day. Though I'm not feeling heavy burdened for myself, I am heavy hearted for friends. Hopefully this will give them, and some of you, a pattern for crying out to our gracious God.)

Dear Lord Jesus, to compare my season of stress with the apostle Paul's would be like comparing my guitar playing with Eric Clapton's, or my singing with Adele, or my cooking with the Iron Chef's. There is simply no comparison. When I consider everything Paul experienced as your servant, honestly, I have nothing to bemoan or groan about.

Nonetheless, Paul's honesty is a great gift to me this morning. His freedom to acknowledge both his anguish and his joy in the same paragraph gives me tremendous encouragement and focus. Posing and pretending were crucified at Calvary. Despair and hopelessness were sabotaged by your resurrection. Denial and medicating the pain only work temporarily.

Jesus, help me to be far more preoccupied with the treasure within than with the pressures without. If your all-surpassing power will be shown most dramatically through my weakness, I surrender to your will. If your incomparable beauty will be most clearly revealed through my hardships, I surrender to your ways. If your redeeming purposes will be most fully realized through my brokenness, I surrender to you.

With my palms up, I offer you praise for the treasure of the gospel. The gospel will win the day, my heart, the nations, and the cosmos. Though there are seasons when throwing in the towel, finding another story, or just flat running away are incredibly attractive, where else would I go but to you? You alone give the words of life, the sufficient grace, and the hope of glory. May your voice be ten times louder than the murmurings around me and the grumblings inside me.

Jesus, in the coming hours and days and weeks, prove the wonders of your love in some very hard providences. It's not about making lemonade from lemons; it's about trusting the God who raises the dead. So very Amen I pray, with hungry expectancy, in your powerful name.

Comments:

Joan Mosel

July 12, 2012 at 08:47 AM

Thank you for posting your incredible prayers. I enjoy them so much. May the Lord continue to bless you abundantly.

Joli

July 11, 2012 at 11:13 AM

I'm in some very hard providences right now. Thank you for this. =) I've been a fan for a long while now, and you minister to me daily. Thank you. =)

Elisabeth

July 11, 2012 at 09:44 AM

I found your your site a few weeks ago and have been so incredibly blessed by it. This has been a difficult, dry season in my life, and I find myself not only hungry to read and pray through the powerful prayers you offer here, but eager to begin to pray anew *from the Scriptures* ~ a practice I have not done enough of in a long time. I've begun to fumblingly write my own prayers some mornings, spring boarding off the Scriptures I'm reading and the things I sense the Lord is saying to me through them. And I am remembering anew the importance of praising God for who he is and what he has done and is doing, in my life and in the life of all his people. Thank you so much.

Lisa Mac

July 11, 2012 at 09:03 AM

Thank you, Scotty, for your prayers each day. I have had so many hard years in a row that I had pulled away from God. I felt I had lost His comforting arms and no longer could see His hand in my life. I also felt I had lost the ability to pray. Your prayers are helping me to learn how to pray again. Just wanted you to know that they are a big help in bringing me closer in my walk with Him.

Mary

July 11, 2012 at 08:26 AM

I love it when God is showing me a theme. Today all 3 devotions I've read on about my weakness and God's strength. Here's an example:

"It's hard to imagine that anyone would choose to be weak over being powerful. But the way of Jesus sometimes calls us to do exactly that, with the understanding that somehow in our weakness we have the greatest impact.

Consider now your strengths and your weaknesses, and wonder which of these actually holds the greatest potential in your journey of faith."

sandy skinner

July 11, 2012 at 07:41 PM

Scotty........ I am in awe of how God always uses the wordings of encouragement and love when I seek Him..... In His Word, in your prayers here, and other readings I use like Jesus Calling and Tim Keller CD's..... He is real. He really is. I am living proof of one who knows Him and senses His divine Presence more and more in my life.... but for one reason especially......when the crushing, raging storms come in my life. So I quote my favorite person, Martin Luther, who in the 1520's said" Satan, kiss my arse." because I know he knew ..... that the God we serve and worship is more powerful and sovereign and mighty than we can imagine. So bring on the trials and heartbreak.....all the more that I KNOW HIm!!