“So often people pray to be delivered from a problem, to be rescued from a situation, to be saved from a disaster, to be spared a sorrow, to be healed from a sickness, to be freed from a mental or physical agony. Sometimes, it is true, that deliverance comes; but far more often the answer is that we are given the strength which is not our strength to go through it, and to come out at the other side of it, not simply as a survivor, but with a faith that is strengthened and deepened and a mind and a life and a character which are purified and ennobled. Prayer does not provide a means of running away from the human situation; prayer provides a way of meeting the human situation.”
— from A Guide to Daily Prayer, William Barclay (1907-1978)
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Some of life’s situations can knock us flat. Others we’d like to run away from. God wants us to seek Him, to hide in Him, to take refuge and strength from Him. I pray today for you as you’re in a difficult situation, maybe one you don’t understand, one that’s overwhelmed you, caused you grief, anxiety, sleepless nights…whatever it is, right this moment, I pray that you sense His nearness. He is with you. Take heart!
Stand in the Storm 