crisis | Thoughts About God

Praying in a Crisis

Devotionals — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 07:06:42 +0000

When life is moving along smoothly, it’s easy to say, “God answers prayer.” But a crisis can bring doubt, especially if the Lord is not responding as quickly as we might like. That’s when we may be tempted to bargain with God as if He could be manipulated into acting on our behalf. However, the goal of prayer is not to get God to do what we want but to bring our concerns to Him, trusting that He will answer in His own way and time.

Waiting on the Lord is fairly easy when we’re not facing anything urgent. But difficulties and suffering tend to make us impatient. We may even begin to find fault with God, thinking that if He truly loved us, He would intervene and bring relief.

As we seek the Lord for help, David’s prayers in the Psalms provide wonderful patterns for us to follow. He faced many dire situations and continued to turn to God. Today’s passage from Psalm 86 starts with an urgent cry for help, followed by a reminder to the heavenly Father that David belongs to Him. Then he recounts God’s character—gracious, good, ready to forgive, and abundant in loving kindness to all who call on Him (v. 3-5). These characteristics are the basis for trust.

Knowing who God is enables us to trust Him through the crises of life. Because He is faithful, we know that He will keep His promises. His holiness causes us to examine our life and repent of any sins that are hindering our prayers. And His mercy, grace, and love give us the comfort we need to endure hardship.

By Dr. Charles Stanley
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

Praying in Crisis part 2 by Charles Stanley

Praying in a Crisis part 3 by Charles Stanley

Find God in Your Crisis

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In Her Brokenness

Devotionals — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 08:01:48 +0000

“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.” Psalm 62:5

Author Carol Kent lived by her Daily Scheduler! You might say she was “just a bit driven!” classic workaholic. In fact, her sense of accomplishment came only when she checked off the things on her ever-present “to-do” list!

But she tells of the day when a major crisis in her life left her totally heartbroken. And there was nothing on her “list” that could fix it! She says,

“I discovered when you’re at the bottom emotionally and spiritually and all your resources have been used up, Jesus is enough!”

Now Carol calls herself a “recovering workaholic.” She deeply feels the pain of others, weeps with those in despair… understands their hurt and their brokenness.

My dear friend, someone in your life needs you. Today, put reaching out to that one friend right at the top of your “to do” list. Show her Jesus!

By Vonette Bright
used by permissions

God in the Crisis

Devotionals — Sun, 30 Apr 2017 08:03:24 +0000

Calamities can leave us off balance and confused. Consider the crisis of Joseph’s generation as recorded in Genesis 47. “Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.” Joseph faced a calamity on a global scale. Joseph told his brothers, “God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you.” Joseph began and ended his crisis with God. God preceded the famine. God would outlive the famine.

How would you describe your crisis? Do you recite your woes more naturally than you do heaven’s strength? You are assuming God isn’t in the crisis. He is. Even a famine was fair game for God’s purpose!

By Max Lucado
From: You’ll Get Through This

Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
https://maxlucado.com/about/

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