The Lord Is Near

by Charles R. Swindoll

I called on Your name, O LORD,

Out of the lowest pit.

You have heard my voice,

"Do not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief,

From my cry for help."

You drew near when I called on You;

You said, "Do not fear!"

                   ---Lamentations 3:55--57

Our Father, we find relief in knowing that You're here. We talk to You as though You are sitting right next to us. For indeed, though we cannot see You, by faith we believe You're here. You bring us such relief in life, our Father. We would be so lonely without You. The nights would linger interminably; the pressure would be more than we could bear. The tests would be incalculable were we on this journey alone. But thankfully we're not.

You are here with us. And You are in control. We ask You to take every part of that which makes us who we are . . . our temperaments, our personalities, our gifts, our drives, our ambitions, our dreams, our failures, our hopes, our sorrows, our disappointments, and everything that makes up life for us. Take whatever we have, take whomever we love, take us wherever You find us, and let it all be set apart to You.

We ask You to take care of those people and situations that are beyond our ability to fix or change. Relieve our minds of the worry of it all, because, like thorns and briars that encroach upon a lovely garden and finally choke out its blooms, these things have a way of choking us so that we are unable to hear what You have to say.

We trust You to answer our prayer. In the merciful name of Jesus our Savior and our tender God we pray. Amen.