Yes! Recently during Rest Ministries Fall Bible Study many people shared that they do this, or are learning to do it.

God understands even when our prayers don’t make sense

If you have ever felt like you could barely put a complete sentence together, don’t not pray. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26) Sighing the name of “Jesus” will always bring you comfort. Eloquence is not necessary.

God has heard our prayers tied to tears

We have prayed, “Hear the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence” (2 Chronicles 6:19) and God has told us, “I have heard your prayer and seen your tears,” (2 Kings 20:5). When you want to talk to God but somehow your prayers turn into tears, it’s okay. Rest in His presence and allow Him to comfort you.

God knows what we are going to say before we say it

Psalm 139:4 says, “Before a word is on my tongue You, Lord, know it completely.” If you feel lost about where to even start to pray, open your Bible to the Psalms and start reading it out loud to God. Chances are it will describe what you didn’t know how to put into words.

God knows what is in our hearts

We don’t need to try to impress God with our fancy words or flowing phrases. We are speak to Him as a child does to his or her father, crying out “Abba” (Galatians 4:6) There is power in the name of Jesus and Philippians 2:10 tells us, “. . . at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. . . ”

God knows what is on our minds

We can’t “inform” God about something since He already knows. We don’t have to try to figure out all the details in our life before going to the Lord in prayer. “The Lord knows the thoughts of man.” (Psalm 94:11a) He knows your worries, your concerns, your fears, and He wants to cast them all away and give you rest and peace. You don’t have to have the energy to explain the “whole story” about your needs and desires when you are exhausted. Instead, surrender it over to Him and accept His unconditional love.

God understands our difficulty in believing during difficult times

Have you ever felt this way? “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:24) When we cannot form the words to pray, we tend to think it is because we are not worthy to approach the King in our state of mind right now. Not true. We can come to God at any time, in any way. Seek forgiveness for your shortcomings and sins and ask for the hope that He promises.

A 1-word prayer is one kind of prayer

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:18) People may tell you how to pray and provide all kinds of “rules” about doing it correctly, respectfully and with “enough” faith. But remember all of the factors above and “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Isn’t that freeing to know that through Jesus Christ, we can approach the God of the universe just as we are.

Prayer is created for us to be more intimate with God

We are inviting Him into our lives, to share our burdens, our worries, and even our thankfulness. “For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.” (1 John 3:20) Prayer is a gift that God has given us to be able to freely communicate with Him. It is easy to start to think of prayer as something we are “supposed to be doing” –but it is the greatest gift God has given us, for our benefit. In the new year, let go of your preconceptions of what prayer looks like and just communicate with God.

Lisa Copen is the founder of Rest Ministries and she lives in San Diego with her husband and son. She is gradually learning how to balance motherhood, family, illness, and ministry, but she still knows it will be a lifetime lesson. You can see the books she has written, including, Why Can’t I Make People Understand? at the Rest Ministries shop.

By Leslie Vernick

Discouragement and disappointment are normal emotions we all experience, even as Christians.

Peter felt discouraged with himself when he realized that he wasn’t as courageous as he thought he was, even though Jesus had warned him that he would deny him before the rooster crowed (Matthew 26:31 and 74,75). We too can feel discouraged and even depressed when we fail to live up to our own or other’s expectations.

Job felt discouraged and frustrated with his friends. They didn’t get it. Trying to be helpful, they only heaped more shame and blame on Job for his afflictions. We also can feel let down by our friends and family. They don’t understand what we’re going through or don’t offer to help as we wish they would. (Read through the biblical book of Job for the story).

We can get discouraged with life’s circumstances. Things don’t turn out the way we’d hoped despite our persistent prayers. Elijah hoped that after all the miracles the Israelites saw performed on Mount Carmel, they would finally repent and put God first but they did not. King Ahab and Jezebel were as stubborn and hard hearted as always and Elijah felt discouraged, exhausted and believed his entire ministry was a waste (1 Kings 19).

Jeremiah felt angry and discouraged with God when he believed God was against him and temporarily lost hope in God (Lamentations 3). The disciples too felt discouraged after Jesus was crucified, before he rose from the dead. They said “We were hoping that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” (Luke 24:21) They couldn’t see the bigger picture and felt that their life’s work was a waste.

Discouragement happens, even to the strongest and best of people. Here are five (5) things you can do when you start to feel the black cloud of discouragement swallow you up.

1. Be honest.
It does you no good to pretend you don’t feel what you feel. You can’t take action against a negative feeling until you first admit you have it. A strong Christian is not someone who never experiences negative feelings. It’s someone who has learned what to do with them when he or she has them and how to process them biblically.

2. Take care of your body.
If your body isn’t working, your mind, emotions and will are also weakened. I love how God tended to Elijah’s body first, before addressing anything else, and provided ravens to feed him. Sometimes the circumstances of life drain us dry and we need to press pause, stop doing, and simply rest and refresh.

3. Pay attention to your thought life.
Maturing as believers means we learn to think truthfully (Philippians 4:8) and to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

All of us attempt to make sense of the things that happen in our lives. We try to figure out why they happen and what it all means. It’s crucial that we pay attention to what stories we are telling ourselves about ourselves, about others, about God, or a particular situation and whether or not those stories are actually true. For example, if you look at what Elijah was telling himself after he became discouraged, much of it was not true, yet because he thought it, it added to his misery (read 1 Kings 19).

Jeremiah too was telling himself things about God that were not true but because his mind believed his version of reality instead of God’s, he lost his hope. Read through Lamentations 3. Notice in verse 21 Jeremiah begins to have a change of mind and heart. He says, “This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope.” When his thoughts changed, his negative emotions also lifted even though his circumstances stayed the same.

4. Train yourself to “see” life out of two lenses at the same time.
When the apostle Paul counsels us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, (Romans 12:2), he is telling us that our mind needs to be trained to think differently than we have in the past. Part of this training is to learn to see both the temporal (life is hard) and the eternal (God has a purpose here) at the same time.

Paul speaks honestly of his temporal pain when he says he is hard pressed on every side, perplexed, persecuted and struck down. Yet, he did not become crushed, despairing, abandoned or destroyed. Why not? Because he learned to firmly fix the eternal perspective on his spiritual eyes. He says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. …So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:8-18).

Paul never minimized the pain of the temporal, yet discouragement didn’t win because he knew that God’s purposes were at work. (See Philippians 1:12-14 for another example).

5. Press close into God.
The truth is, life is hard, people do disappoint and hurt us and we don’t always understand God or his ways. The prophet Naham talks about a day of trouble and reminds us “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, he knows those who trust in him.” (Naham 1:7) If we’re not in close trusting relationship with God, life’s troubles can become unbearable. The psalmist cried out, “I would have despaired unless I had believed I would see God in the land of the living. (Psalm 27).

One final tip. The best way to chase out a negative feeling is with another feeling. The Bible teaches us “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Gratitude is a powerful anecdote for discouragement. But how do we give thanks in all things? In awful things? In sinful things? That will be the subject of my next newsletter on November 22 at LeslieVernick.com. So keep watch!

Leslie Vernick is a licensed counselor with over 25 years of experience helping individuals, couples, and families. “Lord, I Just Want to Be Happy”. It’s received over 75 reviews and has 5 stars! This book will help you recognize and change habits that, day by day, keep you from experiencing happiness; make good choices and learn from mistakes without beating yourself up; develop the skills that will enable you to let go of negative and painful emotions quicker; and transform difficult circumstances so you can live with gratitude, joy, and purpose.

Visit Leslie’s web site to submit a question for her to answer!

Reprinted with permission, Copyright LeslieVernick.com

Do you ever think about the past and smile about a lovely memory? Or feel a sense of calm when a pleasant memory has glimpsed your presence. God has given you this capability to bring back memories.

I find remembering a certain experience from my past to be very calming to my soul. Sometimes I lie awake at night trying to fall asleep and I can go back in time and remember my childhood memories. These memories take me somewhere else in my present moment and provide an euphoria almost comparable to a drug. Even when I go for a long run sometimes, just thinking about memories helps me lose myself in the moment of physical distress that exercise can sometimes bring.

For patients of chronic pain, memory therapy can be very rewarding. Close you eyes, go back to your most treasured childhood memory, and just be there.

Remembering the past is very important to God. In early biblical times, many authors of the Bible looked back on their past to help them in their present. Psalm 77 is what some call a “remembering” poem. Several Psalms invite us to relieve history. We can recall God’s miracles and his love for his people.

Psalm 77:11 says, ‘”I will remember the deeds of the Lord, yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.”

As I am writing this devotion, I am reading the commentary from my Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Listen to their words:

“Sleepless Nights. Sleeplessness afflicts millions, and the psalm [77] shows that is nothing new. Axiety tormented the psalmist while he lay awake at night. What to do? He deliberately truned his thoughts to the past, remembering what God had done for him and for his people.”

Wow, could this be the cure for insomnia? Could this be a therapy for your fits of pain at night? I pray you will try it. God provides so many answers in His word for our lives. He cares so musch and loves us so much. He doesn’t want us to suffer.

Psalm 77, “I thought about the former days, the years of long ago: I remembered my song in the night. My heart mused and my spirit inquired.”

I pray today for you to remember your song in the night. I pray for calm and peace in your soul. Amen.

About the Author: Nichole Fogleman takes care of patients daily in acute pain. God has called her to help those struggling with chronic pain. She also writes from the perspective of a daughter of a mom struggling with agonizing daily pain. She leads Hopekeeper meetings in Richmond VA and organizes the website, www.hopeforpain.org.

Even though I’ve known Angela Dugi for only a short while, I have come to think of Angie as a dear friend and soul mate as we both travel on the road of chronic illness. I watched her struggle just to have the energy and focus to answer my questions. Every second is precious to her because she doesn’t know how long that second will last before she needs to rest. Her book, What I Learned Lying Down: Hope for the Chronically Ill gives an intimate look into her private journal as she shares how God used her illnesses for good during this fourteen-year pilgrimage.

Living with chronic fatigue, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, and asthma–all while being a wife and mom to three children–is life-challenging to say the least! But, as Angie says, “To be fixated on the pain that accompanies a chronic illness is effortless–the challenge lies in looking for the treasures that are hidden in the midst of the pain.”

That right there pretty much sums up why Angie wanted to write this book. She wanted to share what God has shown her as she lay at His feet during those frustrating and hard times.

According to Angie, this book was never her idea. She had never written anything substantial up until this point. But she clearly felt God’s prompting as He woke her up at 2AM one morning. She strongly felt these words in her spirit, “I want you to start writing, and I want you to write the end of the story first, of how I healed you [spiritually].” She started journaling the very next day.

She kept a journal for three years before she sensed God telling her to start organizing her thoughts into a book format.

It was such a privilege to interview Angie (as she told me to call her right away). We connected on such a deep level, as all fellow sufferers seem to do. She is one of the most encouraging people I’ve ever met. She’s been through so much and continues to go through so much, and yet she is willing to help encourage others who may need it. Angie hopes this book will encourage and comfort the sick and give them hope that is only found in Christ!

If you are in a dark valley right now and need some encouragement to help you travel on your own road of illness (or maybe you are watching loved ones go through this migration), this is one book you have to read. As I turned each page, I became more and more engrossed in her life. I cried and laughed right along with her. God did touch me through her words. May He do the same for you!

You can find her book, What I Learned Lying Down: Hope for the Chronically Ill by Angela Dugi at Amazon.com (and other major internet booksellers). The Amazon Kindle version is also now available as well.

Bridget Gazlay is a freelance writer and artist (and is also chronically ill). She resides in West Michigan. www.pfccreations.com . ** Watch for more articles in coming weeks from Bridget as she shares the highlights of what she has learned through her conversations with Angela!

By Lisa Copen

Friends aren’t perfect (even Jesus’ friends couldn’t stay awake when He asked them to!) but they make the journey easier. Sometimes they can make even the horrible, laughable.

Why are Chevy Chase’s National Lampoon’s Vacation movie series so popular? Because we can relate! Someone else has vacations that include kids fighting in the backseat, car problems, strange relatives, and closed amusement parks.

When my family drove four hours out of the way to an amusement part that was closed, my mom made us get out of the car and take photos at the gate and sign that said “closed for renovations.” We were disappointed, but we laughed and sang the Wally World song (from Vacation) for a few hours on the return trip.

The mishaps in life are always more bearable (and even laughable) with someone who has been there! Share your feelings with a friend.

God is not finished with you yet!

Jeremiah 29:11 says “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

God knows the appointed time that you will come to Him in heaven. Do you really want to interrupt His divine plan? Imagine planning a huge birthday party celebration for a friend. You’ve ordered the cake, you have the decorations up, and you’ve invited the loved ones to attend.

The big surprise is at 5 o’clock. When you arrive at 5, however, your friend sits there with cake all over his/her face, the gifts unwrapped, the room a mess and says, “You know, I came home early and I just couldn’t wait any longer. . .”

Magnify this to what God must feel when you dare to disrespect and not fear Him or the consequences, by messing with the party He has planned for your arrival in heaven.

Consider the possibility that your presence here on earth is necessary for God’s work to be done in the lives of others.

While we are quick to read the beginning verse of Paul’s feelings in Philippians 1:21, we need to read on.

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. . . I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you [the believers] that I remain in the body.”

Read that again. “. . .it is more necessary for the believers. . .”

Death, resulting in heaven, (for believers) may be more comfortable, but it is more necessary that we remain.

In the book When God Weeps by Joni Eareckson Tada, she confronts the issue of suffering head on, without wavering from the tough questions or how it emotionally feels, despite what we know to be true. When a friend questions Joni on why she should hang on any longer, Joni points her to Paul’s writings.

She tells her friend, “You may think it’s far better to depart and be with Christ, but as long as you remain in the body, your family and friends have something to learn. Think of the eternal importance.”

Many of you have shared with me how God has used your illness as an instrument. And some of you are stubborn in the most positive way! Regardless of the comments that believers throw your way, the pain that you suffer daily, or the doctor’s bleak predictions, you know that as long as there is breath in you, God is going to use you to glorify Him.

How does God do this?

He does this in many ways. One of which is giving non-believers something to ponder; if you can radiate joy, in the midst of your circumstances, why is their life falling apart because they drive a Nissan, not a Volvo? But Paul writes that his presence is necessary for the believers. What? Aren’t they covered? You ask. You mean I have to hang out in this turbulent world, without a moment of aching joints and difficulty breathing just to work on the hearts of those who God has already dealt with? What’s with that? Can’t they get it together on their own without my suffering?

Well, yes. Take the “me” and the “I” out of it and focus on God’s reasoning. God has a purpose for your life-right now, right here; the ways that God can use our suffering to mold us to make us more Christ-like number beyond infinity. But despite personal gain, imagine what the presence of pain in your life can do for those around you.

When your brother watches a movie about someone fighting against all odds to climb a mountain, he may think, Wow, I should have that kind of discipline and motivation. When he goes to church, he looks around and thinks, Gosh, I really should read my Bible more. But when you arrive, your presence, your spirit, and your character, with God ingrained into each part of your soul, can, through the Holy Spirit, makes him desire to change, not just think about change or casually wish for change.

Crabb mentions this in his book Inside Out.

“Some people push me to do better by trying harder. Others draw me out to be better by enticing me with an indefinable quality about their lives that seems to grow out of an unusual relationship with Christ, one that really means something. . . The difference is enormous.”

Recently a news show on television took a closer look at what makes marriage work. One family shared their list of goals which included “Own a Lexus” (that was checked off already) and “Visit the Cartier store.” (I’m betting she won’t leave empty-handed!)

These are society’s values. But Jesus says the meek are blessed, they will inherit the earth and experience peace, (Matt. 5:5, Psa. 37:11). For He who is least among you all–he is the greatest (Luke 9:48).

That which we give Christ is precious to Him because we must sacrifice comfort (Mark 12:43). Proverbs 13:8 says, “A man’s riches may ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat.” Those of us who have already lost that which we once put great faith in-our health-have no threat of losing it. It is in God’s hands.

Let’s face it: as a believer we know that we will spend eternity in heaven with Christ. We welcome relief from this world. Basically, we are homesick, as Paul likely was when he wrote “to die is gain…”

God knows this. Colossians 3:1 says, “Set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” Homesickness is not a bad thing. We should long for our real home. And this world is not it!

We will not find, nor should we search, for true contentment. Contrary to what many believe, earth is not one big Disneyland; rather it is a spiritual battlefield. We are soldiers and we have scars.

Crabb writes, “We desire what we do not have and cannot have until Christ returns and restores everything, including ourselves, to the way it was meant to be. Until then, that intuitive awareness of trouble that clouds our happiest moments is reflecting. . . on a basic truth about life in a fallen world.”

We must rely on this. We must take that grain of mustard seed and hold it up and say, “Lord, I am tired. My faith feels weak. I don’t understand, but if this mustard seed can move a mountain, surely this amount of faith can get me through one more day.”

God never set us up to believe that this world would be easy. We’ve done that to ourselves. Many of us Americans have lived in a world where we get whatever we want. Because our luxuries are large, our God is small. When we lose our ease in life, our perspective of God becomes bigger.

God never changes, but our perspective of Him does. But He says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33).

God is the ruler of your life.

“Unless God is the major pursuit of our lives, all other pursuits are dead-end streets, including trying to know ourselves,” shares Charles Swindoll. “They won’t work. They won’t satisfy. They won’t result in fulfillment. They won’t do for us what we think they’re going to do.” Only God’s Word will provide us with peace, wisdom and the ability to hang on one more day… And then one more day. . .”

Don’t give up! There is hope & help!

Lisa Copen is the author of ‘Why Can’t I Make People Understand: Discovering the Validation Those With Chronic Illness Seek and Why and the founder of Rest Ministries. She has lived with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia since 1993.

There is no answer to these questions that can adequately be addressed in a single article. Our Rest Ministries Shop does have some wonderful books that will give you a chance to do some life-changing, follow up reading.

By Lisa Copen

Just as with Job and Jesus, although you may be tempted, God has provided the power to overcome the temptation; “No temptation [will] seize you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 1:13).

In those dark moments of a sleepless, painful night, shadows of temptation may dance on your walls, encouraging you to take a few extra pills and relieve the pain, but angels are attending you. Before the sun set to create this night of desperation, God already knew that you would encounter Satan’s temptation, and He said:

“Satan can’t harm [put your name here]. He can tempt all he wants, but I know that my child will rely on my power and promises to overcome it or I never would have allowed this.”

And then for good measure, God send a few angels to attend to you. Perhaps a phone call will come. You’ll look over and see your Bible and pick it up. You’ll fall on your knees and cry out to God one more time. You’ll think of loved ones that will find you and whose lives will never be the same.

Angels are in your home attending to you to help you overcome the temptation.

Jesus knows temptation. Satan’s daybook had forty days crossed out and the only thing on that ‘to do’ list said, “tempt Jesus.” That was all he had planned. And Jesus’ calendar had forty days marked out that said, “fast and pray.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if day forty-one said “Eat!”

Jesus was human and, big surprise–He was hungry! (Matthew 4:2) Jesus was out there in the desert with Satan on His back and I would guess more than once He imagined just taking a rock and turning it into an ice cream cone, even a Popsicle. So what did Satan use as His temptation? He talked about food! Bread of all things; mouthwatering, buttered, fresh from the oven, carbo-hydrated comfort food, energy-producing bread! The one thing he knew Jesus desired.

What do you desire? Healing perhaps? Release from the pain? These are the things in which Satan will tempt you with for his purpose. If not suicide, then New Age pain clinics that hypnotize you, call forth the spirits to release your pain; quackery that will strip you of your income. Even well-meaning Christians get their theology mixed up and tell you that you can’t serve God or be of value to others or to the church until you are competely healed.

Why did God allow Jesus to experience this temptation?

One of the reasons: “Because He himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted,” (Hebrews 2:18). He understands! He knows exactly what you are going through. If Jesus had not experienced temptation, or He was not able to resist it in His human form, how could He understand our own temptations?

So, why are you experiencing temptation? Perhaps one of the reasons is because you will be able to help those who are being tempted. Most Christians that are in the depths of despair know the Scriptures. They know God loves them. But they just don’t want to “do life” anymore with the terms that they’ve been handed.

I heartily encourage you to seek professional counsel if thoughts of ending it all have entered your mind. This is vitally important. I also encourage you to seek out a friend, a spiritual mentor.

Join me tomorrow for Part 3 of this article.

Lisa Copen is the author of ‘Why Can’t I Make People Understand: Discovering the Validation Those With Chronic Illness Seek and Why and the founder of Rest Ministries. She has lived with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia since 1993.