Have you ever found yourself in desperate need of encouragement? I’m talking about those days when you really wouldn’t mind simply rolling over and staying in bed. One time I was feeling just that way. I simply did not want to move – period. And then – something amazing happened. I began to encourage myself. I began to pray. And like a miracle, my countenance began to change. I tell you, prayer works.
My experience that morning reminded me of what we read about David in 1 Samuel 30. David was in a bind. When he and his men returned to Ziklag, they found that they had been robbed. The Amalekites had come through and taken all their stuff, including their wives and children. David and his men were so crushed that they cried until they couldn’t cry anymore.
As if this weren’t enough, the men began to blame David and spoke of stoning him. Here we have David, whose heart is broken over his own family’s abduction, and on top of this, the people are threatening to kill him. He was in a very tough spot – to say the least. So, what did he do? The Bible says that he “encouraged himself in the Lord.”
You’ll see me refer to this Psalm often, but I imagine him saying something along the lines of:
“Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.” (Psalm 42:5)
We all have our moments. It is simply a part of life in these broken bodies and this broken world. Yet, we who are children of God are always one prayer away from hope. One prayer away from encouragement. One prayer away from the strength to go on.
