Desperate Prayers

Our ninth-hour pleas, contain a powerful secret: Our most desperate moments are the times we realize our deep need for our Creator God, and realize how meager life is without Him—and that knowledge enriches our non-desperate walk with Him."Desperate times call for desperate measures." Through the centuries, this phrase has been attributed to many authors in various languages. Even though its beginning can’t be fully determined, its continued use strikes a chord in our culture today. Why? Because in our most profound moments of constraint, we search for something beyond our abilities, knowledge, or experience—something beyond ourselves—to pull us through. For many of us, the desperate measure is prayer. Crisis hits, and in agony, we turn to God. Whether we are experiencing a change in circumstances, need healing from sickness, or confirmation to gain peace for a particular course of action, prayer seems to be our best method for getting it. Yet we often wonder why it seems God isn’t listening to or answering our pleas. We struggle to talk to the God of the universe when Heaven feels so far away. How can we know that God hears our prayers? Why do we pray if not to get what we need or want? If God is sovereign and has a plan, why do we need to pray at all? Does God still miraculously answer prayer the way He did in the Bible? And beyond the desperation: What if praying in a moment of panic is practice for something more? Author Rachel Wojo is the ideal pray-er to shed light on these questions. God has often miraculously answered her prayers, but of those answers have come during seasons of deep personal heartache and loss. Let her teach you how to use the answers given during moments of anguish to enhance the whole of your relationship with God.