With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.
Psalm 142:1–2, ESV
We are fully dependent on God’s grace and mercy; our Lord desires our prayers and wants us to share our troubles with Him. It’s not because He does not know, but because He wants us to rest them in His hands. This can be hard. I understand this completely. In a Do-It-Yourself world, it is hard to admit that you are unable to complete the task set before you and need help. Yet, this is the faith to which we are called. There is no such thing as a Lone Ranger Christian, and none of us can do a single thing to advance our salvation. Yet, our Lord is always here and is always ready to listen. We can lift our complaints and struggles, and He will hear. He will encourage us when we are down low. In our prayers and/or reading of the Word of God, we find answers and words of consolation. It isn’t a weakness to admit our need for help from God, but a meekness of our spirit in the realization of our total dependence on God. A strength built in the conviction of the truth of Scripture and the gift given to us in Jesus Christ. We are awakened to the new hope that only comes through Him and Him alone. A response to a world that is set against God and settled in a dogma of self-love and personal satisfaction. In a realization of peace and comfort that Christ alone can bring.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.