There are times in our lives that feel impossible. Weary from long days, we wonder if God sees us or even cares. Beloved friend and author Ruth Schwenk has spent almost two decades ministering to women longing for this peace, all while desperately seeking it herself. Her prayers in Jesus, Calm My Heart, have given hope to millions of women. It’s a joy to welcome Ruth to the front porch today…

Guest Post by Ruth Schwenk

Over the last several years, prayer has been a lifeline for me. Time and time again, all I could do was whisper, “Please God.”

It’s true. In the middle of heartache, we quickly discover we lack power and wisdom- unable to fix our circumstances and unable to figure a way out. Our helplessness hits us head-on, leaving us with just enough strength sometimes to whisper the words, “Please, God, I need You”.

As I continued to face unknowns and heartaches, I became acutely aware of the depth of my need before God. And the more my eyes were opened to the struggles of those around me. The more God was softening my heart toward Him, the more God was helping me see the suffering and hurt of others.

The more God was softening my heart toward Him, the more God was helping me see the suffering and hurt of others.

So, one night a few years ago, as my head hit the pillow after a long day, I typed out a simple prayer on my Facebook page at around midnight. Then I hit post. It simply read,

Lord, I pray for the woman reading this right now. Give her wisdom as she seeks to follow You with her whole heart. Help her to not grow weary in the journey but cling to You for her hope and strength. When the world wants more of her, give her peace that You are enough. Cover her with Your grace and be ever near to her, Lord. Amen.

I had no idea what God would do with that simple prayer – that humble and honest cry of the heart. As it would turn out, my feelings of helplessness would hit home. Thousands of shares and comments poured in as women simply typed back “Amen,” or “You have no idea how much I needed that right now.” Or, “How did you know exactly what I was thinking?!”

“But here is the good news. In all of the groaning and questioning, the feelings of helplessness, there is hope.”

That prayer and its response was a reminder that many women are worn out, weary, and wondering where God is in the middle of their struggles.

The daily troubles of life have a way of bringing us to our knees.

At night, when we are weary from a long day, words can be difficult to find. We struggle to wrap language around our longings, but what we know is that we need God. The psalmist describes in Psalm 6:6-7b what we’ve probably all experienced— 

I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief;

But here is the good news. In all of the groaning and questioning, the feelings of helplessness, there is hope. We’ve all hit the pillow at the end of the day and wondered if we can do it all over again tomorrow. 

On our own, we can’t. 

We come to the end of ourselves at the end of a day so we can begin to experience a new kind of power – fueled by God’s very presence. 

This is why the coming to an end of a day can also be the coming to an end of ourselves. We stop trying to figure out all the answers. We cease from our desire to control what is next or what is ahead. We discover how weak we really are in our own resources. We might feel worn out. We groan. Tired and worried, we can weep. And yet this is also where we meet God, who never sleeps and is waiting to give us His hope, assurance, and joy. 

Prayer, more than anything, allows us to encounter the Living God. We come to the end of ourselves at the end of a day so we can begin to experience a new kind of power – fueled by God’s very presence. 

As 1 Peter 5:7 reminds us, we have a God who cares for us and invites us to “cast all” our anxiety on Him.  Prayer is our answer. It is the answer to the worries we face. In prayer, we release feelings of fear, regret, shame, or disappointment. In prayer, we come to the end of ourselves to meet God, the God who cares for us and calms our helpless hearts. We find true comfort in coming to Him.

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{ Our humble thanks to Bethany House for their partnership in today’s devotional. }