Category: Our Father in Heaven Is My Helper

Let’s read aloud the below passages twice.

Psalm 103:13-14 NLT –
The LORD is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.

Hebrews 13:5-6 NIV –
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)
So we say with confidence,
“The LORD is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?” (Psalm 118:6-7)

Psalm 121 NLT –
I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth!
He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.
The LORD himself watches over you!
The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade.
The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.
The LORD keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.

Prayer:  Father In Heaven, thank you for how you know me and for your compassion towards me.  I will trust in your promise that you are always with me, never to leave me or forsake me.  Lord, I need you and look to you alone for help.  Would you help me today?  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s continue to look to the Lord for help as we sing “He Will Keep You” by Sovereign Grace (click here).

– EK

 

 

After becoming paralyzed from the shoulders down in 1967, Joni Eareckson Tada shares about a critical time of turning to the Lord for help (Diamonds in the Dust: 366 Sparkling Devotions, pp. 23-24):

“The most powerful prayer I ever offered was the shortest. After three depressing years of suicidal despair over my paralysis, I prayed, ‘God if I can’t die, show me how to live, please!’
Things didn’t change overnight, but with that simple prayer my outlook began to change. I realized that I had to take responsibility and face reality head on. With God’s help, I would have to learn how to do the impossible—handle life in a wheelchair.
And did God help! It’s been said that faith may move mountains, but prayer moves God. I’m convinced the Lord was touched deeply by my short, simple prayer. Why? Because I pushed myself out of the way in order to rely on His Spirit; and I told Him the honest truth about my desperate desire to live.
You might not have the strength to say much more to God than a simple prayer like mine. God is not looking for a lot of fancy words. He simply wants you to approach Him in spirit and in truth. That means heartfelt honesty.
You may not change overnight after you offer a prayer in heartfelt honesty, but change, you will…You just might start living the impossible.”

Psalm 18:6 NLT –
But in my distress I cried out to the LORD;
yes, I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
my cry to him reached his ears.

Prayer: Father in Heaven, would you help me today?  There are difficult things that I need to face and seem “impossible.”  But with your help, all things are possible.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s continue our worship to the Lord with the song “Way Maker” by Leeland (click here).

– EK

 

When I was five years old, I was unintentionally left alone after coming home from school.  My mother and live-in grandmother were running late from an appointment.  In emergent cases like this, I was taught to at least know how to get inside the house.  All alone in the house for the very first time ever, I was afraid.  So, the best thing I thought I could do was run into my parents’ room, get into their bed, and cover myself completely under their bedspread.  At that time, it was the closest thing to being near them.  I waited under their bedspread for about half an hour to an hour, but it seemed like “forever.”  When they finally arrived and they entered my parents’ room, I immediately felt relieved and safe again.

Let’s read aloud Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV – Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

We are not immune to difficulties, troubles or challenges, but our Father in Heaven has promised to never leave us or forsake us.  We are always safe in his presence.  He is always with us as we experience the Holy Spirit’s presence dwelling in us and with us.  His presence with us makes all the difference so we do not have to be afraid or give in to worry or anxiety about anything.

Let’s pray: Father in Heaven, thank you that you promised to always be with me, never to leave me alone or to forsake me.  Because of your presence, I can be strong and courageous in you.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s praise the Lord with “Not Afraid” by Jesus Culture (click here).

– EK

“As a child, Annie Sherwood had dabbled in poetry, her first verse being published when she was fourteen. In 1857, she married Charles Hawks and they established their home in Brooklyn, joining Dr. Robert Lowry’s Hanson Place Baptist Church. With the good doctor’s encouragement, she began writing Sunday school songs for children, and he set many of them to music.

‘I Need Thee Every Hour’ was written on a bright June morning in 1872. Annie later wrote, ‘One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks. Suddenly, I became so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live without Him, either in joy or pain, these words, ‘I Need Thee Every Hour,’ were ushered into my mind, the thought at once taking full possession of me.’

When Annie’s husband died sixteen years later, she found that her own hymn was among her greatest comforts. ‘I did not understand at first why this hymn had touched the great throbbing heart of humanity,’ Annie wrote. ‘It was not until long after, when the shadow fell over my way, the shadow of a great loss, that I understood something of the comforting power in the words which I had been permitted to give out to others in my hour of sweet serenity and peace.’”

[Robert J. Morgan, Then Sings My Soul: 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories, page 179]

Psalm 73:28 NIV –
But as for me, it is good to be near God.
    
     I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
    
     I will tell of all your deeds.

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for your nearness is the very help that I need.  I need you every hour of every day.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Let’s worship to the song “Lord, I Need You” by Matt Maher, a song inspired by this hymn (click here).

– EK

“Discouragement, hopelessness, despair—so many situations in this fallen world can make us feel this way. Problems and struggles can wear us down physically, emotionally, and mentally—and can even erode our faith.

But God, our loving Heavenly Father, understands our feelings at times like these, and He wants to help us. After all, His Son, Jesus Christ, went through the same experiences we do—although without sinning (Hebrews 4:15). We are never alone when we know Christ, and we can trust Him to lead us out of our dilemma.

Life sometimes takes us through hard places. But even in the midst of them, God is with us, and nothing can happen to us that is beyond His ability to help.

The Bible says we can ‘rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope’ (Romans 5:3–4 NIV). Being joyful may seem hard to you right now, but put your hope in Christ, and thank Him that He will never abandon you.”

[Billy Graham, Hope for Each Day: Morning & Evening Devotions, page 48]

Psalm 103:13-14 NIV
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

Prayer: Our Father in Heaven, thank you for your compassion on me.  As my helper, you are always with me. I place all my hope in you today.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s continue to place our hope in our Father in Heaven who is full of compassion as we sing “My Help” by Josh Baldwin (click here).

– EK