Pour Out Your Soul
Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:8 (NASB)
This time of fasting is a time for us to get alone with God and pour our very soul out to Him. I’m not talking about just praying for additional time. I am talking about the fervor and intensity with which you pray. I am talking about prayer that sets you in a place that it doesn’t matter what others think or what is happening around you. I am talking about prayer that is personal and filled with a burden to have more from God. A prayer that is for God only and the burden is so great you can’t even talk to anyone else or even know that they are there. A pouring out that is so intense that you find a place to fall down before God. A prayer that expresses deep in your soul that you need what He has for you more than life itself. You’ve got to have it, so you travail.
I allowed myself to reflect on Pastor Sam’s question. How long has it been since you poured your soul out to God? Not praising Him from where you sit at church. Not just attending Sunday School and Wednesday night service. Not just being a “good” person. Not just enjoying the message or being satisfied with your personal Bible study but truly, deeply and hungrily desiring more of God to the point of travail.
Travail, by definition means painful or laborious effort. It takes work and exertion. The effort, the time, the soul searching is worth it. I read an article called, Stepping in the Light, by Monica Bass. She explores 5 reasons it is wise to pour out our hearts to God. I don’t want to try to summarize her words so I am going to quote them for you here:
Because God Hears – Even when you pour out your heart to a friend, she may or may not accurately interpret the cry of your soul. God always hears, always understand, always listens with compassion.
Because God Knows – We see endless cycles of overwhelming pain. God sees our experience differently-He sees a path. A way out. A way forward. A journey.
Because God Cares – Frankly, friends have limits. They can only bear the weight of your heart so long. But God cares indefinitely. When no one else understands or cares, He does. And His compassion is new every morning.
Because God’s Timing is Perfect – God did deliver David (from Saul), and it was in God’s perfect timing-for David, for Israel, for larger purposes beyond anyone’s understanding.
Because God can Change…Me! – We usually pray for God to free us from our circumstances, caring little about the prisons of our souls. But what if God wants to deliver us from self, more than we want deliverance from our situation? What if we prayed, “Change my circumstances, but first change me!”
Fasting is difficult because we are giving up something that we like or do all the time. It is difficult because the devil fights us every step of the way. The good news is that God does His best work when we are weak. Don’t let the devil keep you caught up in your weakness. Pour out your soul to Him. Deeply desire more of God. If the answer to Pastor Sam’s question is that it has been awhile. Start today.
Your face, O Lord, I shall seek. Psalm 27:8 (NASB)
Bible Reading: Psalm 63