An Honest Prayer

Good Tuesday morning! Have you ever prayed an honest prayer? Sure, you and me, we think that all of our prayers are honest. One example stands out in the Bible for me today. A man cried out a simple and honest prayer to Jesus. In Mark 9:24 a father makes the heartfelt cry we all sometimes feel: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" I have thought often that this prayer is one of the most honest we can pray. We read the promises in the Bible and we think that our belief is solid, but then a doubt or two creeps in. We stare at the storm instead of the Savior. We look hard at the waves instead of the walker on top of them. We see doom in the circumstances and forget the promise in the scriptures. One day there will be no more room for unbelief. We will see Jesus on His throne and know beyond any doubt. Until then, we have this world to constantly remind us of how close we are to the edge of the chasm. We have our diabolical and animal natures attacking our faith from inside. We have our own eyes looking to the wrong things.

"Seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness..." Jesus tells us. The prodigal returned to his father to find a welcome embrace, covering for his flesh, and food for his starving belly. Jesus promises the same to us. We believe this...and then we doubt. The prayer of simple honesty comes to mind once more. "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" We tend to start at the end of that simple prayer, concentrating on our unbelief. Get back to the start of it - concentrate on the Lord! The circumstances of your health, or your finances, or your family life, or relationships, or a million other things may seem so very dark this morning. Look to the Savior; read His words of promise and hope. Not just the ones about His coming to rule and reign, but the ones that speak to God's marvelous sovereign will for us right now on this very day when things seem too dark for us to believe.

One day that second part about unbelief will no longer be necessary. Need I remind you and my own self that the day has not yet arrived? The doubts will come from our unbelief, or the doubts will be fired at us from our adversary. Make it a firm prayer, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" We have much to live for, and certainly the most joyful reason is our Lord Jesus Christ.

Enjoy a better day,
Bucky