What To Do When the Pain Doesn’t Go Away

The Wednesday feature of the Worldly Saints blog is a Scriptural meditation whereby I take a verse or passage I have been pondering lately and seek to edify my readers with it’s promises, encouragements, warnings, rebukes, etc.

At the 2014 ACBC Conference, a seminar was given by Pastor Brad Brandt of Wheelersburg Baptist in Wheelersburg, Ohio entitled “How to Pray When the Pain Will Not Leave.” For your edification on this Christmas Eve, I thought I might give you a synopsis of his lecture.

If you are experiencing some form of darkness in your life and not hearing your prayers answered, read Psalm 13 carefully and apply quickly.

If your life is fairly tranquil, read it anyway and equip yourself for the next trial.

When you are experiencing great pains, you need to be praying. And when you pray, there are three things you can bring to God.

#1 – Bring to God your questions.

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?” (Ps 13:1-2)

When we feel overwhelmed in life, we tend to turn away from God rather than to Him. We look away from our all-sufficient God to an insufficient world. We try to navigate through pain with our own foolishness and strength.

Instead, we need to do what David is doing. He asked God how long he would have the feeling of abandonment. He asked God how long that feeling of inner turmoil would last. He asked God how long it would seem as if his enemies would gain victory over him.

David boldly asked God those “elephant in the room” questions.

#2 – Bring to God your requests.

“Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed over him,’ lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.” (Ps 13:3-4)

David simply asked two things: (1) Look at my predicament and answer me. (2) Give me light to see the way of godliness.

And he asked these two things because he had a natural fear of death and didn’t want the name of God to be dishonored in anyway.

David was honest. He wanted relief. He wanted to be honorable to God in the midst of it.

#3 – Bring your praise to God.

“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” (Ps 13:5-6)

As we see so often in the Psalter, David anchors his worship in the middle of the pain. He found truth in who God is, what God does (as a Savior) and what He has done in the last.

And David resolves to not be a passive Christian in the midst of this pain. He makes three pledges to God: (1) “I will trust You,” (2) “I will rejoice in You,” and (3) “I will sing to You.”