A Prayer from the Pit
Excerpt from Job 30:18-19 (NIV)
“In [God’s] great power God becomes like clothing to me[and] binds me like the neck of my garment. [God] throws me into the mud, and I am reduced to dust and ashes.”
Reflection by Kenneth L. Samuel
The only thing worse than the deep dark agony of desperation and suffering is silence. Out of the abysmal cauldron of his condition, Job speaks, but not just in rants to those around him who would listen. Job speaks in faith to God, for there is no other way to speak to God. Prayers from the pit of painful predicaments are nevertheless acknowledgements of God’s presence.
And even though Job expresses great disappointment that God had not alleviated his distress, he nevertheless acknowledges God’s power – for the same God who has the power to throw us into the mud and reduce us to dust and ashes is the same God who has the power to lift us out of the mud and give us new life. Any prayer out of any condition that acknowledges the presence and the power of God has potential to unleash new possibilities for life. Ask Job. He would tell you that the God of his deepest dejection is also the God of his greatest deliverance.
Prayer
Lord, even in the midst of our deepest distresses, we are grateful that you hear us. Help us to never forget that your presence has the power to make our lives new. Amen.
Lord, even in the midst of our deepest distresses, we are grateful that you hear us. Help us to never forget that your presence has the power to make our lives new. Amen.
|
