Are you struggling to ask for help?

Psalm 121:2 (NIV)

 My help comes from the Lord,
 the Maker of heaven and earth.

I know when I was in high school I had a problem that I confided in a friend.  I liked a boy and wanted to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with but I feared he didn’t want to go with me.  I picked the girl I thought was my closest friend and told her. I asked her if she thought he would go with me and if she would hint around with him to find out.  It turns out within a few hours that girl had “shared” my problem with many other girls and I was now the butt of their jokes.  I was betrayed and humiliated.  I never wanted to confide in anyone again.  This caused me to keep me silent when I needed help.

There was another time when I was looking for a career change.  I confided in  a few people in case they heard of an opening.  I was approached by someone that confided in me that there was an employee that headed up a type of business I was interest in working at that soon would be fired.  He told me that I was perfect for the job if I could just take notes of what I observed this employee do incorrectly to make the firing easier.  I lowered my standards and allowed Satan to guide me and did it because I wanted this more prestigious, higher paying position.  It of course all backfired because he had several people he “promised” the job to if they would do the same thing.  Again, I allowed another person betray me when I asked for help to obtain a better career..

Both of these situations, one when I was young and one as an adult caused me to not open up and ask for help and to shut down and keep everything to myself.  Help on a human level can only be supportive when offered correctly but help on God’s level can be miraculous.

John 15:16 ESV 

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

I will tell you that these two situations happened before I built my relationship with God.  I was unaware of the unconditional love and guidance Our Heavenly Father offered me.  I would always pray but I didn’t understand how to pray for help specifically.  I would pray for sick people or world peace which were sporadic and vague prayers.  I learned that God loves specifics when we can give them to Him in a prayer for help.

My prayers for help are very grounded in my heart and offered in supplication (n.
the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly).  This gets confusing with the word begging in the definition because I prefer the word persistent. God wants to know that the prayer for help is something we stand firm in and is not fleeting.  He loves when we ask continually if our heart is true.  Don’t associate this with a toddler throwing a tantrum and stomping his feet begging for something.  Think of it as going to your favorite restaurant and there is an hour and a half wait to be seated.  You sit patiently until your table is ready because you know how succulent the food is.  It’s the same with God.  When you wait patiently and listen to His Words the succulent food becomes your incredible life.  Patience when you ask for help is crucial.  If you are in a rush for help ask God to give you patience and understanding that it may not come quickly.

Isaiah 41:10 ESV 
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

I know too that when I go to God for help he is never unavailable.  He is always right there waiting.  God is not a genie waiting at your beck and call but a caring and loving Father always there to help.  He doesn’t mind if your problem is financial, marital, medical or any other situation.  He doesn’t limit what type of help he offers.  I have turned to God when my credit card debt was astronomical and He helped.  I turned to Him when both of my parents were sick with cancer and He helped.  I turned to Him when I was married to a man riddled with drug and alcohol addiction and He helped.  He is always there.

I am not going to guarantee that you will always get the outcome you are praying for but I will guarantee that God will always do His will.  I trust in His will because I know He has already planned my life and at the end of my life I will be with Him and my family of believers.  No one on earth can promise me that and God keeps all His promises.

I also want to mention that there have been times I needed help and had no words to ask God for His help.  I only cried and felt what my need was in my heart and God heard that.  You don’t need words to help, aren’t prayers mostly thoughts and feelings?  There is no wrong way to ask for help in your heart.  Please know if it’s in your heart it’s His Holy Spirit asking for you.  He is in you and with you in Spirit so He is you and understands you.