Have you ever considered how God wants us to pray during difficult times? Many times I find myself praying for deliverance or praying that the hardship doesn’t last long or praying to just change something about the hardship I am going through. But is that really how God wants me to pray?
Colossians 1:11 states that the Apostle Paul prayed for the church to attain every kind of patience and endurance with joy. Paul wasn’t praying for the church to be delivered from the hardships, but to be strengthened with joy. It is the joy that only Christ can bring to us during difficult and challenging times when we rely on Him to sustain us.
I believe God is more interested in changing us than in changing our circumstances. He does not delight in watching us suffer or have a hard time, but He does delight in our spiritual growth. If we are honest, we must admit that most of our spiritual growth comes during the hard times in our lives, not the easy times.
Difficult times stretch our faith, and those times teach us not to trust in ourselves to solve the problem or change the situation, but to rely on God alone. It also gives us compassion towards others who are going through difficult times too.
Sometimes we are so focused on the difficult times or the immense problems we are facing, that we cannot see or understand what it is we are supposed to be learning. As Romans 8:28 says God works all things for the good of those who love Him. So, since He is working the hard times for our good then we should pray to be strengthened with joy instead of only praying to be delivered.
It is difficult to not pray to be delivered, but possibly if we pray to be strengthened with joy then we may catch a glimpse of the lesson we are to learn and the spiritual maturity we will then gain.