Prayer: A Cry For Help

One of the great mistakes a Christian can make in his, or her life is to overcomplicate prayer. Prayer is not complicated. Prayer is difficult for most of us, sure, but it's not complicated. At the root of all our petitioning of God in prayer is really the same prayer: HELP. What you're doing when you pray is simply asking God for help.

David says this plainly in the Psalms, where he writes,

"In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears."

(Psalm 18:6 ESV)

This invitation to ask for help is an amazing gift when you think about the One we've been invited to call upon. The God who made everything, stands sovereign over everything, sees everything, and knows everything has invited you to come to Him and ask for help!

We can and should grow and mature in our understanding of prayer. We should study the great prayers of Scripture. We should pray Scripture. We should spend much time meditating on Jesus' teaching on prayer. We should read great books on prayer. We should spend time praising God for who He is and thanking Him for what He's done.

But, we should never allow our desire for growth in prayer to keep us from the simplicity of crying out to God for help.

So where do you need God help today?

• Maybe, like me, your kids didn't sleep well last night, so you're tired with yet another long day facing you. Will you ask Him for help?
• Maybe you're in a situation, or circumstance you have no idea how you'll make it through. Will you ask Him for help?
• Maybe you have a financial issue you're facing that's left you wondering how you are going to get by. Will you ask Him for help?
• Maybe you have a sermon to write today. Will you ask Him for help?
• Maybe your marriage is running on fumes and you don't know what to do. Will you ask Him for help?

I don't know what you need to ask Him for help with, but I do know that we all need our Father's perfect, unfailing, and gracious help today. Don't overcomplicate it. Simply lift your voice and cry out to God for help today.