What a friend we have in Jesus All our sins and grieves to bear
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer
O what peace we often forfeit
O what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer
Do you remember hearing songs like these in church and just singing them? You know all of the words and the melody feels so good but it's something about truly understanding what you're singing. That has been happening to me a lot lately with songs that I used to just "listen" to. God is giving new meanings and revelation to songs that I have heard many times. What a Friend we have in Jesus was that song for me recently. The lyrics alone give us great instruction. "What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grieves to bear. What a privilege to carry. Everything to God in prayer".
For me, I have always desired tangible results in my time of need. I would run to the nearest person trying to find an answer when things went wrong. What happened when they weren't available? What happened when what they said was not the comfort I sought after? I was even more empty than I was to begin with. God wants us to come to Him first in our times of need. Advice is great and Godly council is amazing but it won't be sustainable if that's all you're depending on. God is always with us and ready to lead and guide us. This sounds elementary but so many of us don't do it. We run to social media, text our friends and have urgent conversations to get us to feel better in the moment. What happens after that good feeling is gone? Who will be there to instruct you on your next moves?
A few weeks ago I was in a meeting and something was said that made me upset. I was going to discuss it with someone after the meeting but God told me to go and think about it. So I took a bathroom break and thought about what upset me. I then realized that there was miscommunication involved and nothing needed to be discussed. Now, had I gone through with going to have a discussion with that person or expressed my grievances with someone unnecessary conflict could have ensued. But a moment of clarity with God shifted the whole day.
We really forfeit our right for peace when we don't take everything to God in prayer. I am working on this daily myself so I know the difficulty involved in it. However, He is our friend and He is there to orchestrate our lives. We just have to let Him.