Giving In... To Grace

I am not a fighter. I give in easily.
This becomes a great problem when dealing with temptations. I give in, 'cause I don't want to fight... It's been ingrained in my brain that you must fight temptations.
But the other night, as I was writing my prayer to God, I began to write "Help me not to [give in to temptation]..." but it suddenly dawned upon me. I crossed it out. Retry; I wrote "Help me give in to grace." Give in to grace. He seemed to be whispering in my ear, "You don't have to fight. Give in. Don't fight; give in to grace." Give in! It's not a question of fighting temptation, but of giving in to grace. Look to the compassionate eyes of Christ, not the condeming eyes of Satan. Focus on the good of the Giver, not the bad of the Taker. When you fill your thoughts with Heaven, Earth's promises are less than desirable. "The end of a thing is better than the beginning." Every little choice I make now leads me one step closer to Christ or one step closer to Satan. There is no in-between. Are you dwelling on what is right and true?
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." - James 4:7, NIV Bible


What a Friend we have in Jesus - Written by Joseph M. Scriven 

What a friend we have in Jesus, 
 all our sins and griefs to bear! 
 What a privilege to carry 
 everything to God in prayer! 
 O what peace we often forfeit,
 O what needless pain we bear, 
 all because we do not carry 
 everything to God in prayer. 

 Have we trials and temptations? 
 Is there trouble anywhere? 
 We should never be discouraged; 
 take it to the Lord in prayer. 
 Can we find a friend so faithful 
 who will all our sorrows share? 
 Jesus knows our every weakness; 
 take it to the Lord in prayer. 

 Are we weak and heavy laden, 
 cumbered with a load of care? 
 Precious Savior, still our refuge; 
 take it to the Lord in prayer. 
 Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? 
 Take it to the Lord in prayer! 
 In his arms he'll take and shield thee; 
 thou wilt find a solace there.

Philippians 4:6, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Crying Out To God

February 15, 2013 — by David H. Roper

After all these years, I still don’t fully understand prayer. It’s something of a mystery to me. But one thing I know: When we’re in desperate need, prayer springs naturally from our lips and from the deepest level of our hearts.

When we’re frightened out of our wits, when we’re pushed beyond our limits, when we’re pulled out of our comfort zones, when our well-being is challenged and endangered, we reflexively and involuntarily resort to prayer. “Help, Lord!” is our natural cry.

Author Eugene Peterson wrote: “The language of prayer is forged in the crucible of trouble. When we can’t help ourselves and call for help, when we don’t like where we are and want out, when we don’t like who we are and want a change, we use primal language, and this language becomes the root language of prayer.”

Prayer begins in trouble, and it continues because we’re always in trouble at some level. It requires no special preparation, no precise vocabulary, no appropriate posture. It springs from us in the face of necessity and, in time, becomes our habitual response to every issue—good and bad—we face in this life (Phil. 4:6). What a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer!

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer. —Scriven

God’s help is only a prayer away.