A different point of view

A Prayer for Help in Time of Trouble

Lord, don’t be angry and rebuke me!
Don’t punish me in your anger!

I am worn out, O Lord; have pity on me!
Give me strength; I am completely exhausted

and my whole being is deeply troubled.
How long, O Lord, will you wait to help me?

Come and save me, Lord;
in your mercy rescue me from death.

In the world of the dead you are not remembered;
no one can praise you there.

I am worn out with grief;
every night my bed is damp from my weeping;
my pillow is soaked with tears.

I can hardly see;
my eyes are so swollen
from the weeping caused by my enemies.

Keep away from me, you evil people!
The Lord hears my weeping;

he listens to my cry for help
and will answer my prayer.

My enemies will know the bitter shame of defeat;
in sudden confusion they will be driven away. 

Psalm 6

(Source: adifferentpointofview)

Jeremiah 1:5

I was reading the bible today (because I decided, since it was lent, I should be doing this more often as a form of prayer), and I turned to Jeremiah 1: 4-10.

Within these verses lies one of my favorite lines of the bible — “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” [verse 5]

This line means a lot to me, because no one else in the entire world knows us better than God does. He knows our faults and our weaknesses, and he doesn’t judge us. He is the only one who will forgive us when nobody else will. He will always be the one who’ll share our burdens when no one else is there to help us. He’s the only one we can turn to, when everyone else is busy with their own lives. He’s the only one who listens and understands.

Yet, we complain and we whine to him when we are given what we do not want. We take him for granted, and we treat him like a vending machine, only turning to him in need of help.

Just last week, I chanced upon a friend’s Facebook status that read “What happens when God doesn’t give you what you want?” In reply, I left a comment, saying, “What happens? You just don’t get it lor. LOL Instead God gives you what you need and what He knows you can handle, because I believe that He only gives us what we want when He knows we are ready for it.”

It is true, that God doesn’t always give us what we ask for, but we have to remember that He has a reason for not doing so. He may give us what we don’t want, but then it is up to us to accept the things he has given us and make the best out of what we already have.

We must all learn to be grateful for the the many blessings he has given to us. To me, that’s exactly what lent means.

During this lenten season, may we remember all the good things God has given us and be grateful for them. God bless you always.

(Source: adifferentpointofview)

The Preservation of Friendship

One who pricks the eye brings tears, and one who pricks the heart makes clear its feelings. One who throws a stone at birds scares them away, and one who reviles a friend destroys a friendship. Even if you draw your sword against a friend, do not despair, for there is a way back. If you open your mouth against your friend, do not worry, for reconciliation is possible. But as for reviling, arrogance, disclosure of secrets, or a treacherous blow — in these cases any friend will take to flight.

Gain the trust of your neighbor in his poverty, so that you may rejoice with him in prosperity. Stand by him in time of distress, so that you may share with him in his inheritance. (For one should not always despise restricted circumstances, or admire a rich person who is stupid.) The vapor and smoke of the furnace precede the fire; so insults precede bloodshed. I am not ashamed to shelter a friend, and I will not hide from him. But if harm should come to me because of him, whoever hears of it will beware of him.

Sirach 22:19-26

(Source: adifferentpointofview)