The prayer that nourishes our trust in God

Turn with me to First Samuel chapter 30. Almost a year ago I preached on this passage and for some reason, all this confidence in trusting God brought a whole new light to this passage for me. 1 Samuel chapter 30, and more or less the story says that: "While David and some of his men came to Cyclag, and those of Amelec had invaded the Negeb and Cyclag and had devastated this entire city and had set it on fire, and their wives and all who were there from the youngest to the greatest had been taken captive, but they did not kill anyone, but they had carried them away as they went on their way."

"So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned, then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept, until they lacked the strength to weep." David's two wives, at that time, it is clear, we do not want to be like David today at that time, today there is only one. I want to clarify just in case. "David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jeezrelite and Abigail, who was the wife of Nabal the Carmelite, were also captives, and David was very distressed," he loved them that much, "because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were bitter in soul, each one for his sons and daughters; but David strengthened himself in the LORD his God."

The prayer that nourishes our trust in God, what is this, what is it eaten with, a prayer that nourishes our trust in God? One of the things that I was able to take from this passage, my brothers, is that that prayer that nourishes our trust in God first of all has to be proven. We have to be in a high-pressure situation for that prayer to truly come forth. When we are living our lives like this, comfortable, like nothing happens or what is happening are things that are tolerable on a human level, one's prayer is thank you Lord for this day, help me face whatever comes, in the name of Jesus, amen, Right? Or am I the one who prays just like that?

But when the vineyard turns sour, when things really get tight, when you don't know what is going to happen, when you really feel like throwing in the towel, and I don't give more, what's more, when one does not even feel like praying, that is when the prayer that nourishes our trust in God comes, because it is not just any prayer, it is a different prayer. And first of all it is a prayer that has to be like this in a situation of extreme tension. And it is not because God wants to see us in extreme situations, but if we listen carefully to the words that were shared with us today, God allows things to happen for Him to fulfill His purposes.

But in the midst of those things that happen, we have to be very aware of what it is or how He wants us to pray. In the midst of those situations of tension, pressure, and anguish, what did David do? He strengthened himself in God. What do you do when you are in a time of anguish, what do you do when you are in a time of pressure, of tension? Mommy I need help, Medrad, can you have coffee with me? I need to talk to you. Blanca, make me a lasagna because I have to go to your house to talk to you. My lady, those shakes that you make me, I need one now.

That is the tendency, we tend quickly to look for someone to talk to, with whom to vent, the human tendency. There are some that what they do is that they lock themselves up inside and they are enduring, enduring, enduring until they explode and then we have to intervene in another way, instead of acting preventively we have to go to extremes. But the important thing is that this prayer is strengthened in God, it is connected with the gift of faith, when everyone says they are lost, the gift of faith says no, there is still hope, something can still be done, and David was strengthened in God.

Second, it is a prayer that seeks resources, as part of its strengthening process, it seeks resources. Do you know what David did? The text says, when he found out that people were taking the stones to throw them at him, oh because of you, David said timeout, time, he called the priest, he called the priest Aviatar, and said please bring me the ephod, how many do you know what an ephod is, does anyone know what an ephod is? An ephod is a robe worn by the priests when they entered the holy place to intercede for the people. A tunic of specific fabrics, precious fabrics that did not compare to any other. It was a dress that was consecrated for that particular use, and that was what David asked for, he said bring me the ephod.

In such a moment of anguish, the most he could say was Lord, I have to intercede right now in this situation, I have to seek Your direction now more than ever. That prayer that nourishes our confidence is a prayer that is open, receptive to receive from God. It is not a prayer that is seeking to impose its own plans, but rather a prayer that is open to scrutiny, to God's direction. It is a proactive prayer, it is a prayer that seeks direction to know how to proceed instead of sitting down and folding your arms.

Look how the text says: "David inquired of Jehovah", verse 8, "saying: Lord, shall I pursue these marauders? Can I catch up with them?" David did not approach God saying, oh Lord, they took my two wives from me, they took my sons, my daughters, and now what am I going to do?, oh Lord, oh, and now, who can defend me? . And at that time the Chapulín Colorado appeared there next to David.

Look what a difference, I imagine that David at that moment, I want you to imagine this with me: David was surely experiencing a mixture of feelings; On the one hand, he was sad because his loved ones, his most precious possessions had been taken from him, he was on a mission, as they say, he was attending to other wars, other matters to which God sent him, and while he was doing that the enemy He came from another side and wanted to take away everything that was valuable to him. How many times can it seem that we want to be in line with what God wants from us, that we want to serve the Lord, we are there ahh, war in the name of Jesus, rebuking the devil on one side and on the other hand the devil comes and try to take something away from us.

And I imagine David with that sense of frustration, on the one hand sad, he didn't have his wife, his children, on the other hand scared because his own wanted to fall on him, on the other hand upset because they took away something that He was very valuable and he was upset with his enemies, and who knows if at one point he was thinking, Lord, I am doing these crusades for You, and because You command me to do it and look what I get, how can You are you going to allow that?

But what is interesting about the text is that David did not claim any of that from God, all he said was: I have to go looking for my people so I am asking you, should I persecute them or not? The text said that God said: yes, go chase them and you will catch up with them. But what if God had told him, no? Oh.

Obviously I'm not going to go that way because it doesn't say so in the text, but I want to reflect on this anyway, because many times that prayer that nourishes our trust in God, we have to see well what are the reasons behind the prayers , of the requests that we bring to God. There are times when we are praying with the wrong motives, and God, to protect us, says no.

You know, we many times, I dare to say this or to ask this rather: at some point have you felt like a resistance from heaven? Like what you are praying for is not happening. Have you asked yourself the following: that for which you are asking in prayer, have you asked yourself this: if God answers yes, will that request bring glory to God? If God says yes, is that request going to help the Kingdom of God expand in our midst? If God says yes, is that answer going to help others to grow in their life of faith? If God says yes, is that request going to help you grow in your life of faith?

If you say no to any of those requests, then you have to go back to the drawing board and reframe that request. Hm, Lord, what am I asking here? How am I asking? Help me to discern, am I asking for this on a whim or am I asking for these things to be fulfilled?

I believe that David was very honest before God, God looks: I want to recover what is mine, but I am asking you, do you want me to do this? So that kind of approach from David lets me know that David was like: Lord, whatever You want. This is very ugly, this is very difficult, it hurts but I ask you: tell me, do you want me to do it, yes or no? Listen to me, if we dared to get closer to God when we pray with that subjection, instead of saying well Latino type, well Hispanic type, I want it now!

And there are moments when you have to pray like this, but not all the time it is praying like this. There are times when we have to pray rather saying: Lord, do you want this for me? Do you want me to have this relationship with this person? Do you want me to say this to this person who might misunderstand me, do you want me to say that? Do you want me to refrain from speaking? Do you want that, instead of me taking revenge on my own, that I learn to wait on You so that it is You doing what you have to do? What do you want Lord?

That is a prayer that nourishes our confidence because in the end and in the end, my brothers, what we are doing is Lord, I am waiting on You, I am trusting You, no matter how painful the situation may be, I am trusting You, I know that You have the answer, and I know that You are going to give it to me.

How much time did David spend interceding before the Lord? Don't know. If I read this text, it is as if God had answered him immediately, but who knows if David left early in the morning, and who knows if the answer came in the afternoon, at night? Who knows if the answer came 24 hours later? But the thing was, he waited for God to let him know look, do this. A prayer that nourishes our confidence, my brothers, is a prayer that knows how to wait on God, on God's response. And I know that there are times when God's answers take time, and that is why we have to learn to trust.

Look my brothers, for me trusting in God is synonymous, and I am not going to say this by writing in stone, but for me trusting in God is synonymous with the fact that things are difficult. When we need to trust the most is when things get tough in our lives. Because if everything is fine, if everything is perfectly fine, if everything tastes strawberry, if everything tastes like china juice, are you going to need to trust? Nah, you're going to be there walking in seventh heaven, nothing boys everything is super good, trust boy, yes, I trust God, that from the mouth out. Now as I said ahurita, when things get tough, here you really have to trust God.

Therefore my brothers, for me to trust God every time I read a text in the Bible that says trust in God, blessed is he whose trust is in God, all this has to do with a person who is experiencing very difficult things and you have to trust God. Usually that kind of support, encouragement, comes out when someone was already defeated, hopeless, I can't take it anymore. Gideon was already depressed, hiding from his enemies, and God comes and says oh, the Lord is with you, a strong and hardy man, yes Pepe, me?, really.

See if he was so down that the man couldn't even get that message at first. But with everything and that this angel came representing God and said hey, trust Him. Trust Him, because what I'm telling you, God has a purpose, like what I'm telling you. And whether you want it or not, God is going to fulfill it, whether you want it or not, to be in your waiting time, whatever the situation in which you are waiting, look, God is telling us, trust Me, God is telling us, trust Me .

And if your response still isn't coming, again this is you with God, you know, I'm just saying because of the concern I have, but if your response isn't coming, if it seems like you have resistance up there, reevaluate, come back to the notebook and write again what happened, what am I asking for wrong? Do I have to leave this request on standby and modify it in another way to then see if something opens up and be able to receive and enter into a more fluid harmony with you?

Do like David, whatever your ephod is, grab it, put it on top. If it's the Bible, put it on as a hat, Lord, I lean on Your promises, Your words. If it is a CD of praises, of prayer, make sure you are alone, alone in the house and turn it on there, turn the volume up to everything, Lord, here I am crying out to you. If you have to go to the bookstore and you come across a book, not if it's unpaid, but if you come across a book that the title on the book cover is like oh, this is for me, this book is going to help me. say something in my situation, take that book, and eat it. Okay, not that the book has power but eat it trusting that God can reveal something to you and can inspire something in your heart, can bring a sense of new direction, can bring you a way of thinking that maybe you didn't have, and when you adopt that in light of God's purposes, look pam, things open up.

But in your desperation, that your prayer is not lamentation but that your prayer is: Lord, what do you want me to do, do you want me to pursue this, do you want me to look for what You have for me?, let me know, if you tell me that yes, that's where we go. If you tell me no, you'll let me know, if you tell me no, we'll go and on the way, you'll let me know what I have to do. Let's not lose our trust in the Lord my brothers. God is too unique a God, God is a unique God.

God is a difficult God, I am not going to deny it, it is difficult to relate to God, but at the same time it is easy because He makes it easy, and in that mixture of difficulty and ease we find ourselves with Him. It is as if we entered into a dance with God and He takes us one way, and then one another, and here we go until we meet Him at a point, where the connection is unique. Let's seek to dance with God.

Maybe this illustration is not resonating with many of you, but I know what I'm saying. Let yourself be led by God in the midst of the situation in which you find yourself. You know in those movies, it's not that I see them, but in those movies when there's a dance scene that when a person is dancing it's like everyone goes like that, around them and the floor opens up only for those two people. Well, think something like that with God. You're in a crowd of people and suddenly God walks in and grabs your hand, and says it's time to dance with me now, and suddenly everything around you cleans up and there's you and Him, and He's the one who's leading you like He wants to take you.

In the process he gives you strength, in the process he gets closer to your ear, he lets you know how much he loves you, he lets you know look, this happened, I know it hurt, but I am with you. It lets you know, another person wanted to dance with you and stepped on your calluses, but now I am dancing here with you, and I am not going to step on your calluses. May our prayer help us to trust God, do not let go of prayer my brothers, let us not let go of prayer, it is our way of staying connected with Him and of being able to continue trusting in Him and in His promises.

Sir, thank you once again. You enter the track, and I know that in Your name any circumstance has to dissipate in order to meet with You. As David did, we seize those resources, we grab those resources that You have available to us and we seek You Lord. Whatever the ephod that we can grab to seek You, to intercede with You, Lord, may it be You doing so, God. We come to You with a proactive prayer Lord, we want to know if we should proceed or not, we want to know if we have to achieve this, or that, or the other, and if You give the go-ahead or not.

While we wait Lord, I know that one can feel alone, feel hopeless, feel that there is no hope, but You are there holding onto us Lord. Help us to maintain our trust in You, and that at the same time we can see Your Lord hand working in us, fulfilling Your purposes in us.

Father, take us to our homes now, God, and allow these words, however simple they may be, to reach deep within our hearts, and help us to continue reflecting on You Lord, and that from this passage You take us to another text , to another reading Lord that can enlighten our mind, our heart, our spirit and thus discover what it is that You want to do and how you are going to do it. We ask you so in the name of Jesus, amen, thank you God, thank you Lord Jesus. Brothers, sisters, may God bless you, peace be with each one of you.