A Heavy Burden

We are told in Ps 55:22 to cast our burdens on God. We are also told the same about our cares in I Pet 5:7.

Psalm 55:22 (ESV) 
²²  Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.  1 Peter 5:7 (ESV)
⁷  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

There are some burdens that cannot be cast off. God puts them there. Burdens, cares, concerns He places on our hearts and deep in our minds. Burdens for lost people. Burdens for revival and spiritual awakening. Burdens for countries or communities. Burdens that may intensify the more you pray about them. Burdens that grip the heart and bring a person to tears in fervent prayer. 

I carry such burdens. One of many is the burden I carry for Kermit, TX. I do not understand it. I was solicited to pray for Kermit over three years ago by a lady named Joan Adams. I agreed I would. In that time the burden has intensified. I find myself thinking about Kermit at different times throughout the day. Many times I awake with the burden to pray for Kermit again. I pray and plead with God to show me how to pray. Several times I have driven to Kermit to pray, lead a few Bible studies, and plan a revival meeting. 

The more I pray for Kermit the heavier the burden becomes. The deeper the desire to see God move in that town grows. The only way to get relief from this heavy burden is to pray through it and to obey God concerning what to do with it. It is a heavy burden I bear for Kermit but one I do so willingly for the sake of God's purposes being fulfilled in that town. 

I hope God will lay similar burdens on His people for Kermit and other towns and people all over the world. May these be burdens we are willing to bear in prayer. 

I am convinced the burdens are a reminder for us to intercede. They fuel the fire of our fervent petitions. The burdens are only a small part of how God feels about such communities or people. I believe God gives heavy burdens to share His heart with us about what He wants to do. If that is true I believe God will visit Kermit in a very special way soon.