Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.

• Psalm 40:1-2

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.

• Acts 16:25-26

From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said:
“In my distress I called to the Lord,
    and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
    and you listened to my cry.
You hurled me into the depths,
    into the very heart of the seas,
    and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
    swept over me.
I said, ‘I have been banished
    from your sight;
yet I will look again
    toward your holy temple.’
The engulfing waters threatened me,
    the deep surrounded me;
    seaweed was wrapped around my head.
To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
    the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
    brought my life up from the pit.

• Jonah 2:1-6

“God’s Word is filled with examples of those who believed God and ‘commenced prayer.’ David certainly did.
“Paul and Silas experienced the same thing in that ancient Philippi pian prison when all seemed hopeless (Acts 16:25-26). And it was from ‘the deep’ that Jonah cried for help. “Choking on salt water and engulfed by the Mediterranean currents, the prodigal prophet called out his distress.
“Often it is the crucible of crisis that energizes our faith.”

• Charles R. Swindoll, The Finishing Touch (Devotion for week 45, Weekend)

The crucible of crisis hits all of us.  It is possible, maybe in a small way, that the people who send in prayer requests to the prayer team are in a crucible of crisis, even for the simplest of requests.

I have heard the line about to those that much is given, much is expected.

That is nice to say, but I have seen a lot of people skate by.

Yet, what about those with broad shoulders, those that can take a punch and keep going?

Sometimes, those folks think that since every setback is worse than the previous, and they never got over the previous, the next will be the one that takes them home.  But each time, they roll with the punch.  They find a way to endure and even be glad.

So, when a crucible of crisis has brought you to your knees, realize first that few people have the strength to survive such times without the strength of the Lord within us, but His strength has no limits.

So, commence prayer.  You find the strength there.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.