A Prayer Reframe You Need When You Hurt

When life is painful, our instinct is to pray for rescue. We want God to remove our pain. However, God’s Word tells us that our pain has purpose and that often God is doing something through it. By shifting our prayer from “God, take this away” to “God, meet me here,” our prayer life can be powerfully changed, thus changing our experience of our hard season. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were about to be thrown into the fiery furnace, they thought there were two options: God rescuing them from the fire, or their death, which would ultimately still be God’s good. God, however, met them thirdly. He met them in the fire. He walked with them in that difficult experience.

By using a practical prayer framework rooted in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV), we can cling to God and walk with Him through our hurt, rather than avoiding Him or simply begging for the hurt to end. The verse states:

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Recognize God’s Grace

God’s grace is the first attribute mentioned in this passage and the first thing we should ask for when praying in distress. For example, if we are sick, we can say, “Lord, grant me your grace in enduring this,” instead of, “heal me.”

The definition of grace is “the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.” This means that God can and will bless us whether we deserve it or not. He has the power to save us, and this is enough for us. Corinthians reminds us that this is enough. We are quick to ask for more. We want a life without trials. God is reminding us that His grace is already an abundant gift and that we can persevere with it.

So, start your prayer by asking God for His grace in your pain.

God, give me grace in this (moment, hour, pain, circumstance); I know it is all I need.

Recognize His Power

The next attribute of God that is mentioned is His power. By reminding us of who He is, God is trying to shift our focus from our problem to who He is. His power is a reminder that He can do anything. He could remove our suffering; therefore, if He is not, it has a purpose.

Remember the God who stilled the waves is also the God who allowed Paul to have a thorn in the flesh that He did not remove even after prayer.

God, fill me with your power. I trust you.

Recognize Our Weakness

As humans, the thought of being weak scares us. We want to be capable, strong, healthy, and happy. If not, we think something has gone wrong. God’s ways, however, are not our ways. He tells us that when we are weak, then we are strong. This is because God is infinitely stronger than we are. If we try to fix things in our own strength, there are limits. If we recognize our weakness and invoke God’s help, then our strength is limitless because it is His. We can stop striving, fighting, and worrying and instead accept defeat. It was after those three men were thrown into the fire that God showed up. If they had attempted to fight the guards, they would probably still have ended up in the furnace. By accepting their limitations, they welcomed an all-powerful God to do their fighting for them.

Exodus 14:14 (NIV) tells us, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Lord, I am weak and cannot do this alone. I am thankful that I don’t have to rely on myself. Please work on my life, situation, pain and suffering. I am resting in you.

When we put all these prayers together, they remind us of who God is, what He can do, and the importance of trusting His plan.

God, give me grace in this (moment, hour, pain, circumstance); I know it is all I need. God, fill me with your power. I trust you. Lord, I am weak and cannot do this alone. I am thankful that I don’t have to rely on myself. Please work on my life, situation, pain and suffering. I am resting in you.

These words remind us that we don’t need to run from the pain, but rest in it, knowing that God is moving in our lives. Instead of crying out immediately to be removed from the fire of trials, we can simply ask God to meet us in them. We don’t have to fear that we won’t be able to handle the pain, because it was never meant to be our burden to bear.