Trust Him At All Times

Many people struggle when it comes to prayer. Especially when it comes to praying in public. Words get jumbled and people often get tongue tied. I think this has more to do with what people think about those who will be listening more than thinking about the ONE who will be listening.

In [Ps 62:8] there is a great definition of prayer. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

Did you catch it? Pour out your heart to Him. That is the greatest definition of prayer I have ever stumbled across. The word "pour" means to spill forth, gush out, to expend. That is what should happen when we come before Him. All that is in our heart should spill forth, gush out, and be expended. Burdens. Repentance of sin. Fears. Anxieties, Needs. It should all be poured out before Him.

When we do this trusting Him at all times, we can rest assured something is going to change; either our circumstances or us. The word "trust" means to be confident, sure, bold, and careless. When I truly trust God I can live careless. I can simply rely on Him to do what needs to be done. I can trust Him to make the impossible possible. I can trust Him to hold me firm in His grip when all hell is unleashed against me. That means I do not live in anxiety. I do not stay up at night worrying. I trust that the God who knows everything and the God who can do anything is in control. I therefore leave it all with Him in simple trust.

Trust is a word I place great value on. By nature I am not a trusting person. I experienced enough wounding in my childhood by people I trusted that I learned to live with my guard up. After a couple of decades of ministry and more wounding trust is not something I give away easily. Trust is built on the character of the one asking to be trusted. God's track record is stellar. He has earned the right to be trusted. He has always proven Himself to be faithful, dependable, reliable, and trust worthy. God is worthy of our trust.

He does not always do things the way we like or would wish. He is wise and knows what is best. That is a hard pill to swallow sometimes. When you watch good people suffer you begin to question whether you can trust God. When your spouse was taken way too premature your trust is tested. When your best efforts crumble into failure even though you repeatedly asked God for help you begin to question whether He can truly be trusted. When evil prevails over righteousness across the land questions about whether God is reliable begin to surface.

Will we give God our trust at all times? Job did. [Job 1:21-22] Paul and Silas did. [Acts 16:25] What about us? No matter what we are facing we are commanded to trust God at all times. Trust Him in triumph. Trust Him in trials. Trust Him in tragedy. Trust Him in grief. Trust Him in health. Trust Him in suffering. Trust Him in persecution. Trust Him in peace. AT ALL TIMES TRUST HIM.

This will never happen if we do not truly know God and are not fully assured of His character. There are millions who live in bitterness and anger toward God. I have spent some time in that camp myself. It is easy to be deceived into believing God does not care and God cannot be trusted. The enemy sows this into people's minds and sooner or later many of these folks turn their back on God forever. A few do not go that far but they live a nominal Christian life working to never put themselves in a position to have to trust God for anything. It escapes their notice they trust God for every breath! Every beat of our heart is trust in God. Life is like a vapor James writes. Life is fragile.

We are commanded to trust God at all times. I have to trust Him in my circumstances and you are called to trust Him in yours. Maybe the trials linger. Maybe the pain intensifies. Maybe the burdens increase. Maybe the tears do not dry. Maybe the drought continues. Maybe the crops are not what you hoped they would be. Maybe attendance at church dwindles. Maybe you do not get the promotion. Maybe things do not turn out like you hoped they would. We are still commanded to trust God at all times. God has earned that right. If you keep trusting Him now He will show Himself reliable and trustworthy once again.