Maybe you’re disappointed and discouraged by the state of the world. Maybe your hopelessness is much more personal.
I want you to know you can trust Jesus when you feel hopeless. He is able to heal you.
No, I can’t promise that He will heal you physically although I know He can. What I do know is that He is able to heal your heart! He is able to replace your hopelessness with joy, peace, and contentment. He is able to give you hope.
In Mark 5, we read three accounts of hopeless individuals who encountered Jesus.
A man possessed by a “legion” of evil spirits..
Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him.
Mark 5:4
A woman who suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding…
She had suffered a great deal.
She thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”
Mark 5:26a, 28
And a father whose daughter was dying…
When [Jairus] saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, pleading fervently with Him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.”
Mark 5:22b–23
Three suffering people . . . one asked for help, another reached out to simply touch, and the third wasn’t able to do either. But after they encountered Jesus, their hopelessness was replaced with faith because they had been the recipients of His compassionate love.
That’s what His compassionate love does . . . it changes lives and gives us hope.
And that’s why He tells every hopeless soul…
“Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”
Mark 5:36
Will you pray with me?
A Prayer to Trust Jesus When You are Hopeless
Lord Jesus, thank you for showing us the tremendous compassionate love of God. I think about praying “Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever,” and I believe. You keep your promises and I trust You.
Thank you for knowing my needs and showing me Your love. You alone are able to take my feelings of hopelessness and replace them with truth that gives me hope. You are my healer, my strength, my comforter, and my Savior. You are the One who gives me life and a future filled with hope. Because of You, I no longer have to be afraid.
I yield myself to You. Please give me all I need to trust and follow wherever You lead me today. And please help me remember that I can reach out to You whenever life is hard and trust You to faithfully respond with compassion and love. You, Lord, not only give me hope . . . You are my HOPE! Amen.
Friend, when you feel discouraged and hopeless you can trust Jesus.
Reach out and touch Him. Cry out to Him in prayer. Trust His promises…
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
On today’s note write…
Jesus is my HOPE!
God bless you and give you everything you need to trust Jesus’ compassion and love when you are hopeless!
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What do you do when life is uncertain and you are struggling with feelings of vulnerability?
It’s interesting to be living at a time of collective uncertainty.
But the truth is … everyone experiences that vulnerable feeling from time to time.
I can’t tell you how often I’ve thought about the words spoken by the father of the “demon-possessed” boy … a desperate man who just wanted his son to be healed.
Talk about feeling vulnerable.
This father brought his desperation to the disciples but they couldn’t help. So, as Jesus came down from the Mountain of Transfiguration He was met with a group of arguers trying to figure out what to do next.
Jesus surveyed the crowd and asked a few questions, and after answering a few details about his son, the father pleads…
“Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”
Mark 9:22
Jesus replied…
“What do you mean, ‘If I can’? Anything is possible if a person believes.”
Mark 9:23
The father’s response always grabs my attention and my heart…
“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
Mark 9:24
Can you relate to these words, too? When you are desperate for answers and solutions? When life feels shaky?
But that’s the point. The father didn’t take his son and leave. He didn’t give up in despair. He took the faith he had and trusted Jesus.
So, that’s what I’m doing today. I’m going to Jesus and asking Him for His mercy and help. I’m honestly admitting that I feel vulnerable.
I’m praying the words of Jesus, asking Him to give me peace and hope because when I feel vulnerable, I need stronger faith. Faith that truly believes the promise that … “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
I’d love for you to pray with me…
When You Want Stronger Faith – Pray Jesus’ Truth
“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
Mark 9
Lord, thank you for the gift of faith. I can’t imagine trying to do even a moment of my life without the hope You give.
It’s why I love this father’s hopeful prayer. Like him…
I do believe, but when I’m overwhelmed by problems and everywhere I turn people are fearful and worried … doubt creeps in and challenges me. I need Your help, Lord. Please fill me with Your Spirit, help me remember the countless ways You have been with me in the past, and flood my heart and mind with the truths of Your unfailing promises.
Jesus said, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.
Matthew 7:24–25
Lord Jesus, I want to be wise. I want to listen to and follow Your teaching. I want “solid rock” faith. Your Word tells me to “be still and know” You. (Psalm 46:10) Please fill me with a desire to spend time with You by reading and studying Your Word … by sitting with You in prayer. Please quiet my spirit and help me fix my thoughts on Your truth.
Help me “keep my eyes on” You, the author and perfecter of my faith. (Hebrews 12:2) Help me fix my “thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. And think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8) With Your Spirit’s help, I believe those things will help me through life’s storms.
“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.
John 14:15–17a
Lord, I do love You … yet, I know I fall short of perfectly obeying your commandments. Please forgive me. I’ve prayed to know Your truth. I’ve asked You to help me love You with all that I am. I’ve called out for Your help to be able to trust and obey Your perfect will.
Because I know that I am unable to do any of those things on my own. I need Your Spirit’s help. I surrender myself to You, Lord. Guide me. Fill me. Teach me Your truth. Keep me so focused on You that the world’s lies and temptations have no power over me.
Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31–32
Lord, You are the TRUTH that sets me free.
By Your grace, I am no longer a slave to sin and I am free from the eternal consequences of my sin.
You free me from the lies I tell myself and the lies satan uses to tempt me. You make me free to live each day with hope and joy because I am forgiven and redeemed for all eternity. You give me freedom to love as I have been loved.
Lord Jesus, I don’t want to just know Your truth … I want to live Your truth. Please help me follow where You lead. Help me faithfully obey You … without doubts or questions but trusting that every Word is true. May I say like the Psalmist: “Every word of God holds true and we can trust everything He does.” (Psalm 33:4) Amen.
Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20
Lord, I pray that You will help me be an encourager. I want everyone to know and love You. I want them to live with the freedom You give. I want them to know the blessings of loving You and obeying Your commands. I want them to experience peace, joy, patience, and hope. And most of all, I want them to enjoy the blessing of Your presence … to rest in the truth that no matter what happens in this life, they will never have to face it alone. You will be with them.
Your grace is sufficient. When I am weak, You give me the strength I need. (2 Corinthians 12:9) You guide by Your truth and help my faith to grow. Thank you! I worship and praise You and ask that by Your grace, I might live for Your glory today, tomorrow, and always. Amen.
You know, I’ve learned something important in recent months…
I’ve learned I have to be careful about what I consume—what I listen to, watch, and read. I have to think carefully about the discussions I have.
If I want to have stronger faith and know and pray Jesus’ truths … I have to focus on who He is and all He’s done.
You have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:1–2
When I feel vulnerable and my heart cries…
“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
The promise I have … the promise you have, is that we are not on our own when we want to have stronger faith.
When you and I want to have a rock-solid foundation built on the truths of Jesus. We have the promise that we have been hidden with Christ in God. We have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us know and…
Pray Jesus’ truth.
And that’s awesome news!
Because of Jesus, you and I can surrender each day, even when that day feels vulnerable and uncertain. We can be confident that we will be given everything we need to live in faith with hope and joy.
Take a moment to subscribe to Counting My Blessings and join more than 7500 of us as we read the New Testament together. We will share short posts every Monday through Friday that you can read each day or save for the weekend. Let’s study God’s Word together!
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Christmas is just days away and as I read through and lift up the prayer requests left on the Blessing Counters Prayer Page, I can’t help but notice how families seem to have two areas of pain and concern that rise to the top … especially at this time of the year.
Finances and relationships.
It’s funny how we get it into our heads that this year we need to do everything we can to make our memories perfect. And for many of us, that means all of our loved ones blissfully gathered together around an amply piled Christmas tree.
Now, I’ll be one of the first to admit – that loving relationships are important and part of God’s desire for us. And I’ll also admit that this time of year makes our broken relationships even more painful. And I know that giving gifts at Christmas is one of the ways we express that love.
I’m also aware that many of the problems people are praying about are greater than gifts and gatherings. It’s just that the Christmas season tends to make us even more aware of what’s lacking in those areas of our lives.
And I wonder if we aren’t all tempted to put a bit of our Christmas focus on what’s less important. I wonder if we expect people and things to fill a hole in us that only God Himself is able to satisfy?
What if we’re hoping God will fix our circumstances … forgetting that He has already given us everything we need in and through Jesus to fix everything in our lives forever.
So, I’m pausing from all the planning and preparations and praying for HOPE. I’m praying to let go of the less important to focus on the One who is the hope of Christmas … Jesus!
Praying for Hope in the One Who Really is Christmas
Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in You alone.
Psalm 33:22
Father, my prayer is that You alone might be my source of hope. The hope You give is the confidence that I can trust Your promises. Jesus is the fulfillment of every promise You have ever made. He is the Living realization of Your love and through Your Spirit … Your unfailing love surrounds me.
You show me through Your Word and the details of my life that I am secure when I place my trust in Jesus, the promise and source of my salvation.
“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
Luke 2:10–11
Father, I try to imagine what that night must have been like. The night the Word in flesh took His first breath of earthly air. The night Your Garden promise was fulfilled.
As I celebrate Jesus’ birth in a few days, please settle my heart and mind on Your grace, mercy, and love. Help me focus on the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord … the One who gave up everything to give me hope I can count on. Hope that is the assurance of Your grace, mercy, and love.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
Oh Father, how I love these words of Jesus. It’s so tempting to worry about our finances and relationships. This world is broken and too often it robs me of my peace and contentment … things You want for me. Things You invite me to bring to You. Things You want me to bring to You. Things You offer to help me carry.
Thank you! I bring You every concern and burden and ask You to replace it with hope … by Your grace and for Your glory.
God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that He would never change His mind. So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.
Hebrews 6:17–18
Father, Your promises are sure and unchanging. I can count on You and trust Your Word. I can rest secure in Jesus … the Way, Truth, and Life. So, I run to the safety of Your embrace confident that I can place my hope in You … not just for today, but for the New Year, and for the rest of forever.
Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.
Lamentations 3:21–23
Father, I will hold this promise close to my heart whenever I am tempted by doubt and fear. I will remember with hope…
Your unfailing love is perfect and lasting. Your mercy covers every part and every moment of my life. Your grace makes it possible for me to know with certainty that my problems are temporary … that Your grace is sufficient to give me hope when life overwhelms me.
I will hold on to the hope I have in Jesus, the promised One who is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End … the One who came to earth to live the perfect life I am unable to live and suffered the death I deserve that He might rise again to give me life forever with You.
That is grace and mercy. That is Jesus. That is HOPE in the One who is Christmas! My thanks and worship and praise are Yours forever and always. Amen.
I’m Praying for Hope for You
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed by expectations you are putting on yourself or disappointed by your circumstances or the choices of others, know that this is my prayer for you today…
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13
May your celebration be blessed by the One who is Christmas.
You see the meaning of the word Christmas is Christ’s Mass. He is the reason we celebrate. He is the gift that will last forever. He is the source of our hope!
Take a moment to subscribe to Counting My Blessings and join more than 7500 of us as we read the New Testament together. We will share short posts every Monday through Friday that you can read each day or save for the weekend. Let’s study God’s Word together!
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Leave your prayer requests…
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And always remember – I LOVE hearing from you! So, please take a minute to say ‘hi’ by leaving a comment.
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Entire industries have been developed because we want what they want and we don’t want to wait for it!
We hate waiting in lines. Traffic jams make our heads spin around. We pull our phones out to pass the time in waiting rooms and still we grow more impatient with each passing moment.
So, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that we really struggle when God’s answer to one of our prayers is … “not now.” Especially because He doesn’t tell us when. He simply says, “wait.”
And waiting is hard. I know … we’ve had some experience with waiting.
Let me give you a few personal examples…
Rev and I experienced seven years of secondary infertility. Years of temperature charts and hormonal roller coasters.
We waited almost a year for a diagnosis when Rev was ill and that was just the beginning of many more months of waiting on treatment, surgery, and praise God … healing.
Then my mom took a terrible fall and broke her neck, wrist, and hip. We waited for weeks as she seemed to be recovering … only to have her fall again and die from her injuries.
Six weeks after my mom died, our first grandchild was born at 24 weeks, weighing just a little over a pound and a half. And we waited and waited as he spent time in hospitals and doctor’s offices. Praise God … he is a happy and healthy 11-year-old today!
Friend, I get it! Waiting is hard!
And one of the hardest parts of waiting on God is although He knows the outcome … you and I do not.
Maybe you’re waiting because of a health issue, a relationship struggle, or a financial problem. Maybe you need a door to open professionally. Maybe you’re waiting on a loved one to surrender their heart to Jesus.
Whatever you’re waiting for … God’s Word tells us to bring our prayers to the Lord as we wait with hope. So, today we will pray..
5 Verses to Pray When You are Sick and Tired of Waiting
Psalm 27:7–8
Hear me as I pray, O Lord. Be merciful and answer me! My heart has heard You say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
Father, I feel like I’ve prayed for this a hundred times or more. My heart cries out. Sometimes I feel like a pestering child pleading again and again … asking You to give me the answer my heart desires. And yet, as many times as I come to You, You never turn me away.
You say, “Come and talk with me.” So, here I am once again. Please strengthen me while I wait and help me trust Your will for me. Fill me with Your Spirit and give me Your peace. I can’t do this on my own. But I believe Your promise that I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13) Amen.
Isaiah 55:8–9
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Father, forgive me. I really am shortsighted. I only see my immediate needs. It’s hard to imagine the “what-ifs” of the future. But You know them all. You see the end from the beginning. And not just the big picture, You are personally involved in the details of my life. Help me trust You! Help me know that if You ask me to wait … there is a good reason. Help me rest knowing that whatever You allow, even this season of waiting, is filtered through Your love. Hold me close, Father, and bless me with Your perfect peace. Amen.
Romans 8:24–28
(If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Father, waiting patiently and confidently is hard … especially when the enemy taunts me with doubts and fears. Please place a hedge of protection around my heart and mind. Give me Your promises to defeat the enemy’s lies in my life.
Thank you, for this word of promise that even when I’m discouraged and exhausted from waiting, Your Spirit continues to pray for me in line with what You know is best for me. And then … You graciously and lovingly work it all out for good.
I’ll admit, sometimes Your answers don’t seem “good” at the moment but with Your help, I will trust that You know what is best for my eternal good even when I don’t understand right now. I surrender this need to Your love and care. Amen.
Psalm 40:1–3
I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.
Father, I want to wait patiently for Your help. But honestly, I’m not very good at it. I can be whiney and pouty. Sometimes I sound like those complaining wilderness wanderers. But You never stop loving me. You hear my cries from the pits I dig for myself and You reach down when I’m sinking in self-pity … gently offering me Your outstretched hand.
By Your grace, help me to look up. Make me aware of all You are faithfully doing on my behalf. And help me to trust You to lift me up and lead me. You not only know what lies ahead for me; You promise to go with me. Thank you, Lord. Amen.
Psalm 33:20–22 (NCV)
So our hope is in the Lord. He is our help, our shield to protect us. We rejoice in Him because we trust His holy name. Lord, show Your love to us as we put our hope in You.
Father, whatever happens today … my hope is in You. While I wait … my hope is in You. I believe that You are protecting me in countless ways.
I trust You to give me everything I need to wait today and I will trust You to give me everything I need again tomorrow.
Yes, I will continue to ask. I will seek and I will knock on the throne room door. I will come to You in faith trusting that You always keep Your promises. Fill me with Your Spirit that I might experience “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control” today. By Your grace and for Your glory … in Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Yes, waiting is hard.
But you and I don’t wait alone. By God’s grace, we have the Holy Spirit who is holding us up before the throne of grace. Jesus called Him, the Advocate … the Spirit of truth (John 15:26) He is with us and in us giving us what we need while we wait.
If you’re tired of waiting for something today … I would love to join you in prayer. Please leave your prayer request in the comments or on the Blessing Counters Pray Page.
Thank you so much for partying with us! May your week be blessed with faith, love, and friendship!
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Many of us personally claim the promise God made through Jeremiah to the exiled Jews living in Babylon:
I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.Jeremiah 29:11
And the awesome thing is … you and I can claim it because God has given us a future and a hope through Jesus.
Do you know the verses that follow verse eleven?
In those days when you pray, I will listen.If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.Jeremiah 29:12–13
Today, I’m praying and boldly asking…
God, Please Help Me – I Need More Hope
Father, I believe You want me to experience a rich hope-filled life but sometimes when a pain or problem worsens or lingers, I wonder if clinging to hope is futile.
I have to admit it is those times when I take my focus off You and place it squarely on the burden I’m carrying.
Forgive me and help me – I need more hope!
I need to turn my heart and mind to You, trusting You are able to provide for my every need even when Your answer to my prayers for healing or restoration is “no” or “not yet.”
Help me turn to Your Word and remember…
You are the God who saves me. All day long I [will] put my hope in You. Psalm 25:5
You have kept Your promises…
For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for His glory.2 Corinthians 1:20
I can put my hope in You…
Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again— my Savior and my God!Psalm 42:11
And even when life is hard and I’m carrying a difficult burden, I have Jesus’ promises to give me more hope.
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”Matthew 11:28
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”John 16:33
“I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”Matthew 28:20
“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” John 11:25
And Your promise given through Paul…
To make all things work together for the good of those who love You and are chosen to be a part of Your plan.Romans 8:28
So, even when I don’t understand how this struggle can be part of Your plan, I will trust You…
[I can] hold tightly without wavering to hope, because You can be trusted to keep Your promises.Hebrews 10:23
Thank you Father for Your promises and for helping me whenever I need more hope. Amen.
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Just imagine what God will do as His people come to Him in faith and prayer!
