July 7, 2022

Paulina De La Fuente
“Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased to save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord, to help me.”
Psalm 40:11-13

If you have experienced what David is speaking to here, you know how true it is that those hard life moments can make us feel like we “cannot see.” Troubles, both because of the sin in the world/against us and the sin that we commit ourselves, can make us feel blinded on all sides. I’ve seen how the enemy can try to use those moments to make us feel consumed and hopeless, blind to any mercy or saving grace.

And yet this teaches us what I personally learned from our Prayer Pastor, Rhonda Patterson. In moments where we have prayed alongside others that are in immediate need, she has shown me by her example how to ask the Lord to come quickly. This isn’t the kind of prayer that is impatient and unwilling to wait, this is the prayer that admits that no one and nothing but the Lord can come through. Only He is the answer, and our need for Him is desperate.

I’ve learned to use this phrase in my prayers and have seen God come through with His mercy, time and time again. Do you know someone who is in a place where they feel their heart is failing them or are you there now? Ask the Lord to come quickly, knowing that it’s all in His time and His way. The truth is that He is pleased to save us, to show up when we’re feeling desperate and hopeless.

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.” Isaiah 41:10 NIV