September 2023 Prayer Devotional Blog

Is prayer hard for you at times? It is for me as well. What motivates you to pray and to talk to your heavenly Father, or not? Hardship? Difficult circumstances? Distractions? Not knowing the right words to pray? When things are going good? You’re not alone, I’ve experienced all of these too! In fact, my knees are bruised from the past 5 months, as I have assumed a position of prayer due to my employer having to make difficult business decisions to lay off employees due to the impact of the economy. Thankfully, I am still employed, but it does weigh heavy on my mind at times. We are all  aware that a lay off could happen again, to anyone of us that remains. It’s in these uncertain times that I am desperately leaning into the Father for His guidance, discernment and peace.

In the moment that I was reading an email regarding the most recent layoffs and transition, I prayed for those who had been told of their job loss, packing up their belongings and heading out into a world of uncertainty and loss. At the same time, I was thanking and praising God that I had a job and for the impact and godly influence I may have made on others at work who do not know Jesus. It’s in times like these that I am thankful for my source of trust and strength that only comes from the Lord and having a relationship with Him. Prayer has had such an impact on my life and this time is no different. When things like this happen in our lives, we should stop and pause and pray.

back and prayed it over myself, my day, and my loved ones. Wow! What an impact it had when the Holy Spirit reminded me of Psalm 86 when I heard of the layoffs later that day. He is good like that!
How good God was and is to remind me of my previous afflictions where my heart cried out to Him in anger, hurt and fear and He heard my prayers and answered me in ways that only He is able, to show His sovereign and steadfast love throughout His Word. What I did not realize in the morning as I was praying Psalm 86, was that I would be using it as a Psalm of Thanksgiving in crisis later that day. Just like David reconciled gratitude and grief in his prayer, we can too.

David’s prayer in Psalm 86 is an example of how we can cry out to God and praise Him in every circumstance. We can ask Him for help while thanking Him for His steadfast kindness, love, goodness and truth in any circumstance. We can humbly come to the Father at any time, any place and trust that He hears our prayers, praises and heart cries. Sometimes when we don’t know what to pray, praying the Word of God helps ignite the fire deep in our soul. Ask God to show you and teach you how to pray. He will do it. He will show you. He will guide you. You never know how your prayers will impact your circumstances or those around you unless you start.

The Psalms is a great place to start praying over any situation or praising God for who He is and what He has done. If you have specific Scripture you pray, we would love for you to share it. Here are a few suggestions in helping you start or continue in your prayer journey and time with your heavenly Father.

• Psalms 3, 4, 13, 23, 34, 46, 62, 63
• Ephesians 6:10-20
• Philippians 1:2-11