A Prayer When You Struggle with a Lack of God's Love
By Kelly Balarie

Bible Reading:
“And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, 'Abba, Father.” –  Galatians 4:6 NLT.

Listen or Read Below:

Problems. Health issues. Cars breaking down. Relationship breakage. Fear. Doubt. Discouragement. Things not working out.

I remembered everything that happened in the past… My goodness! I’ve been through a lot. It was so hard.

But, now? Some questions remain, like: how do I prevent my experiences from making me fear the future? From defining my identity? From predicting what God has for me ahead? From making me jaded and hardened of heart?

Truly, all that happened makes me want to fear – all that might come.

So, how do I believe the best and hope the best, even though…

I suppose the only thing I can do is -- remind myself of the truth.

What happened to me is not who I am. What happened to me is not my identity. I am okay, right now. God has me in the palm of His hand.

Most of all, God still cares. He hasn’t left me. He didn’t turn away from me long ago. I don’t have to fend for myself. I’m not an orphan.

God’s word says otherwise: “And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, 'Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:6 NLT)

 I am not what happened to me; I am a beloved daughter of God. I am not an orphan; I am filled with the Spirit of God. His very Spirit is in my heart.

He’s in your heart, too. Isn’t that amazing?

And, in this, I can see so much. Namely, I cannot permit what happened to me to change my God-given identity. Forget that.

Another person fell into this trap. It was the younger of the two prodigal sons (Luke 15). Remember him? This son thought what the Father had for him wasn’t enough, so he left the Father’s house – for more. He went his own way. He had his own plans. He thought his own thoughts. The result?

Poverty. Living away from the Father in lack. A wasted life.

Away from the Father’s love is a life that adds up to nothing.

Only after experiencing hard times did the younger son know enough to come back to the Father’s love.

Do we know enough to come back to the Father’s love despite the hard experiences we’ve had?

God’s love waits for us.

The Father’s love is bountiful for us.

The Dad’s love has a ring and a robe for us upon our return.

We matter.

We are not what has happened to us; we are sons and daughters of the Most High King. He loves us. He had good for us in His Kingdom, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Let’s Pray

Father, forgive me for running from you. In some ways, the continuous onslaught of life has made me heart of hearts, jaded even. I am sorry for letting my heart harden. Will you forgive me? I don’t want to run from you, hide from you, or turn away from you. I am coming back to your love. In Jesus’ Name.

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Photo Credit: GettyImages/Thinkstock/demaerre

Kelly uplifts believers with boosts of faith; be encouraged weekly by getting Kelly’s blog posts by email. Kelly, a cheerleader of faith, is a blogger, national speaker, and author of Take Every Thought Captive, Rest Now, Battle Ready, and Fear Fighting. Kelly loves seeing the power of prayer in action. She loves seeing the expression on women’s faces when they realize – their God is faithful! Kelly’s work has been featured on The Today Show, CBN’s 700 Club, Relevant and Today’s Christian Woman. 

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