Shattering news, desperate situations, hopeless perspectives, challenges, etc. sometimes make us feel as if we are all alone. But the truth is completely different. Jesus is far above all the world’s challenges and problems. And you have access to his solutions and his help. Turn your challenges into prayers. Bring your concerns to Jesus in prayer and let him know, what bothers you. One prayer has the power to change your life.

O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. Psalms 65,2

Your loving heavenly Father hears your prayer. He hears and answers your prayers. Through Jesus you can come freely before the throne of God. You can come boldly to your heavenly Father and let him know your concerns. That’s what Esther did with king Ahasuerus. Do you know how we reacted? He held out the golden scepter to Esther and assured her, that whatever she asks of him, it will be given to her. Holding out the golden scepter meant that Esther found grace in the eyes of the king. If he didn’t hold out the scepter, she would have died. King Ahasuerus is a picture of the heavenly Father, Esther is a picture of the believer and the golden scepter is a picture of Jesus Christ. Whenever you make your concerns known to God, the golden scepter, Jesus, will be held out to you and you will always find grace in the eyes of the heavenly Father. Because Jesus paid the price for it.

But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Micah 7,7

One prayer has the power to change your life. One prayer has the power to turn frustrations and discouragement into lasting breakthroughs and victory. One prayer has the power to heal broken relationships. One prayer has the power to heal your body. One prayer has the power to turn despair into confidence. Whatever it is, say a prayer and let Jesus know what bothers you. It’s not your job to find a solution, change the circumstances or think of a good strategy. Your job is to bring your concerns to Jesus through prayer and then let him take over, so he can defeat the giants in your life. Than these giants are piddling dwarfs in Jesus’ sight and they can not stand against him. The victory of Jesus is your victory! Even if you don’t see change or a breakthrough right away, this verse is God’s promise to you that he will hear you and change your circumstances. Stick to Jesus and remind yourself that he hears you and fights for you.

“Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. Isaiah 54,4

When you trust Jesus, you will never ever be ashamed. He keeps his promises. People may make fun of you, because you trust Jesus and don’t trust your own abilities or human possibilities. But Jesus has the last word. He promised that you will not be disgraced. Because he himself will make sure that his promises will become a reality in your life and you will walk victoriously through life. Forget about the past and look forward to the glorious future Jesus is giving you. One prayer has the power to change your life!

It’s probably part of human nature to avoid weakness. And still we are confronted daily with our weaknesses. Thank God there is hope. For Jesus gave us a wonderful promise.

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. 2. Corinthians 12,9

If one wants to produce energy, a negative pole must be combined with a positive pole. If you combine positive with positive, nothing happens, the same result you get when you combine negative with negative, nothing happens. It’s the same with us and God. We humans see weakness and try transforming it into strength. So basically, we try becoming positive. But God is the positive pole. We in our weakness are the negative pole. If we try to become positive, we combine our assumed positive with God’s positive and nothing happens. Surely you have heard of there is God’s part and there is man’s part. It’s amazing that with that we end up doing all the work and wonder where God’s part is. Could it be, that our part looks totally different from what we thought it looks like so far? For when we look at the above bible verse, we realize that our part is clearly weakness. You don’t have to worry about weaknesses, they come automatically. But the solution for how our weakness eventually turns into something good is by letting God do his part. Let him be the positive pole, recognize that we are all negative and this combination leads to the desired breakthrough. Your weakness in combination with God’s power leads you to victory. That’s why Paul said he will boast all the more gladly about his weaknesses, because he knew that Jesus’ power is most powerful in his weakness and this would lead him to victory.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Genesis 17,1

Earlier God promised Abram a son. After waiting for a long time, Abram fathered a son with the servant girl, but this was not the promised one. Abram tried speeding up God’s promise. And now, being 99 years old, it was probably definitely over with fathering another son. Total weakness on Abram’s side and humanly speaking no hope for fulfilment of God’s promise. But God has not spoken his last word yet and now he reveals himself to Abram as God Almighty. That means, all power belongs to God. With other words, God assured Abram that Abram does not need any power, because all power belongs to God. Abram’s weakness combines with God’s power and sometime later, Abram holds his promised son in his arms. It’s the same today for you. Let God be almighty in your situation and give him your weakness. Not your power but God’s power will lead you to your breakthrough. Tell Jesus what your weakness is and receive his grace for it. Combine your weakness with God’s power and let him lead you to victory. For your weakness in combination with God’s power produces a firework of God’s grace.

Worries rob us of inner peace and don’t help at all in solving problems. But still we are often oppressed with worries. Therefore Jesus gave us the solution on how to handle them.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1. Peter 5,7

Cast all your worries on Jesus, he cares for you. You are not designed to carry worries. Your worries won’t change the situation, but they depress you and before you know it, everything around you seems hopeless and gloomy. Jesus doesn’t want you to feel this way. That’s why he tells you to cast all your worries on him. He knows how to handle them and he has the solution for your problems. Often, when we worry about something, we agonize about how the solution could look like and how to get out of this situation. Nevertheless we are no step closer to the solution and are even more depressed instead. Casting the worries on someone else who will take care of them sounds like a very good idea. But how does one do it, casting all worries on Jesus?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4,6-7

If something worries you, bring it to Jesus and let him know what troubles you. By letting Jesus know what worries you, you are casting your worries on him. Instead of letting your thoughts circle around the problem and the worries, talk to Jesus about it. Tell him what worries you, how you feel and let him know what scares you. Then ask Jesus to take care of the issue. Thereby you care your worries on Jesus and your heart will be free. God’s peace brings rest to your heart. And if the worries come back knocking at your door, just do the same thing again. Your worries are in the best hands with Jesus for he has everything under control. Remind yourself that you put the issue in Jesus’ hands and that he will take care of it. Thank him that he knows the solution and will manage everything for you.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1. Peter 5,8

Worries are the devils attempt to get you looking away from Jesus and focus on the problem instead. But did you notice, that this verse says the devil is looking for someone to devour? You belong to Jesus, so the devil won’t find you. Because from this moment on, you cast all your worries immediately on Jesus.

When we are confronted with problems in our lives, we tend to try to solve them on our own. We can spend hours or even days thinking about the problem and how we might solve it and still don’t get any step closer to the solution. And then, when we are so frustrated about the situation, we finally remember that we could pray and ask God for help. How about bringing our problems to God in the first place?

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4,16

Through Jesus death and resurrection we now have free access to our heavenly Father. This means we can enter God’s throne room anytime and let him know our wishes and concerns. There we find grace, mercy and help. Instead of solving our problems on our own, we should bring them to Jesus. In 1^st Peter 5,7 it says, we should cast all our anxieties on Jesus, because he cares for us. Problems cause us to worry and that’s why we should bring them to Jesus, so he can solve them for us. His possibilities and his abilities aren’t restricted as ours are. Jesus is never helpless nor frustrated. By telling Jesus what the problem is and asking him to handle it, we give them into his hands. You can say: Jesus, this is a problem afflicting me and I don’t know how to solve it. But you can solve it. I ask you to handle this problem and solve it for me. When you realise you’re thinking about the problem again, just say: I gave this problem into Jesus’ hands. He handles it. It’s no longer my problem but his and he will get it out of the way.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2. Corinthians 4,17-18

Things that are seen are not eternal, but things that are unseen are eternal. You can see your problems, but be assured they are temporary. Trust that Jesus will solve your problems. Jesus is eternal and his blessings are eternal too. Are you single even though you don’t want to be? You can see that you’re single, but Jesus is already working on turning your being single into being in a relationship and that you will meet your future spouse. Is your bank account empty? You can see that no money is there but it’s temporary. Jesus is your provider and his provision is eternal. He’s already working on filling your pantry and leading you to victory. Are you sick? You can see the sickness but Jesus is your healer and he paid for your healing at the cross. Your healing and your breakthrough are already on their way to you. Whatever your problem is, hand it over to Jesus so that he can handle it and solve it for you. Let Jesus solve your problems, fix your eyes not on what you see but on Jesus and his word.