A difficult relationship can leave us drained and exhausted. On one hand, we feel like turning our back and walking away. On the other hand, we are not ready to give up.
So, what do we do?
We may share our relationship problem with a friend, but that doesn’t always lead to a solution.
Or, we spend hours, usually in the middle of the night, thinking through what happened and wondering if we should have done something different. But, we don’t come up with any answers.
We can’t depend upon other people or our own wisdom to resolve demanding relationships.
But, there is one we can rely on.
As Nick Harrison says in his book Magnificent Prayer, we need to know who we should rely on: depend upon your God.
Our prayers, no matter how small they are, accomplish much because they’re directed to our very large God.
To begin, we should take our eyes off of the relationship giving us so much angst and focus our hearts on God, his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. We pray to a God who lives in relationships.
This triune God has the power to work in our relationships and change lives.
We do not pray alone. The Holy Spirit prays with us.
God’s own Spirit specifically comes to our aid in prayer. He communicates with God for us.
The Bible says: The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (Romans 8:26) (CEV)
We may not be aware of the Holy Spirit participating in our prayers, but it doesn’t mean he’s not there.
I often feel my prayers are not eloquent. When we don’t know how to pray or what to say, we shouldn’t get despondent or give up in prayer.
We are human so it’s natural our prayers seem inadequate. Yet, what seems unnatural in prayer, the Holy Spirit steps right in to make supernatural.
Jesus has already prayed for us.
Jesus said: “I pray not only for them [his disciples], but also for those who believe in me because of their message [us]. I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me.” John 17:20-21 (GNT)
When we put aside our differences and get along with each other, we show other people what it means to be like Jesus.
As followers of Christ, the biggest impression we can make on those around us is to show kindness, acceptance, gratitude, and love.
Being “one” doesn’t mean we all have to think, do, and say the same thing. Instead, it means we need to learn to get along regardless of our differences.
We need to display an out-of-this-world kind of love where we struggle to accept people who are out-of-the-ordinary.
Our relationships with one another are to be as honoring as the Father’s relationship with his Son, and Jesus’ relationship with his Father.
The heavenly hosts present our prayers to God, our Father.
Revelation 8:4 (CEV) says: The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.
If you ever doubt God hears your prayers, this is confirmation your requests reach the ears of your heavenly Father.
Your prayers make their way into the heavenly realms with the help of angels and other heavenly beings.
We are told hundreds and thousands of angels surround God’s throne, yet our prayers still get through and are aided by those spiritual beings closest to God.
The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. (Revelation 5:8.)
Your prayers are sweet smelling and fragrant, like incense, to God.
Your prayers are so precious they are presented to God on bowls made of pure gold.
And, like incense used in sacrifices in the Old Testament, your prayers are acceptable to God.
Thank you God, because I have your Spirit who prays with me when I can’t find the words, and he pleads with you on my behalf. Thank you that Jesus has prayed for us to get along with each other. Thank you heavenly Father for hearing the prayers of your child, for attending to my cries, for being a God who sees my prayers as precious. Amen
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