Daily devotion – Using the God given emotions to fuel our prayers!
1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
We are emotional creatures who feel the pressures and burdens of life deeply. God Himself has given us these emotions, and when surrendered to Him, they can be used powerfully in His service — this, I believe, is where they fit so beautifully.
As I sit and write this devotion, my heart is heavy with concern for my unsaved family members. They are outside the kingdom of God and in eternal danger without Christ. What can I do? I have shared the gospel with them, but they have not yet turned to Him — and time is short!
Thankfully, the Bible reminds me that I can bring these burdens to my Lord in prayer. I can pray for each one of them specifically — for their salvation. I can lay each one of them at the feet of Christ and call upon Him to move in their lives.
Yes, each one must make their own choice. Yet the Scriptures call me to intercede for them — to pray with faith, knowing that the One I pray to loves them far more deeply than I ever could.
I may not be able to bring them to church without their being willing, but I can bring them before the very throne of God — the One who suffered and died for each of them.
As I pray this prayer today, the weight of concern for my lost family is lifted from my shoulders for this time, and placed upon my Lord’s. Knowing that He hears and cares brings peace to my heart — a peace that replaces the anxiety I once carried.
What a gift, that even our concern for the lost can become a holy burden — one that drives us to prayer and draws us nearer to the heart of God.
Let us pray!