Discouraged

Have we trials and temptations? 

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged,

take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a Friend so faithful?

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our ev'ry weakness, 

take it to the Lord in prayer.

"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"

by Joseph Scriven
1820-1886

I don't know about you, but I've said more than one prayer that's gone unanswered, or at least I didn't get what I wanted. Bad circumstances find us every now and again no matter how hard we pray. Sometimes trouble is brought on by our own mistakes, sometimes by a fault of nature, and sometimes we are sinned against.

Go ahead and be discouraged—that's one of many good reasons to pray. Comfort doesn't come from thinking you'll get what you want: God isn’t a vending machine. True comfort comes from knowing that God is God. He hears you, and He loves you. In the end, everything is in His hands. Sometimes that fact scares us, and other times it’s the only reason we can sleep at night.

"Depart from me, all you workers of evil,

for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.

The LORD has heard my plea;

the LORD accepts my prayer."

Psalm 6:8-9

For more on the power of prayer, click here.