How to Pray When You Feel Like Giving Up

Flee like a bird to your mountain. PSALM 11:1Perhaps this resonates with you. There used to be a Judeo-Christian consensus in our country: There is a God in heaven, and He gave us the Ten Commandments by which we should live. That’s not much, but it is a basis for talking to people about sin and our need for Christ.Much of that foundation has eroded away. In the minds of many today, “god” is whoever they want him, her, or it to be. “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (11:3). What hope is there for the church to turn things around?Perhaps you are finding that it is increasingly difficult to live a righteous life at work. You’ve tried to maintain your testimony, but now it seems like everyone is against you. The arrows are pointed in your direction.You feel discouraged and you are regularly asking yourself, “What good is coming from me being here? Nothing I say or do makes any difference. What’s the point? Maybe I should leave. Does God want me to leave?”Sometimes leaving is the right thing to do. Jesus said, “When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next” (Mat. 10:23). John 8 starts with people ready to throw stones at a woman caught in adultery. But by the end of John 8, they are ready to stone Jesus too, and we are told that “Jesus hid himself” (John 8:59). When we face situations of difficulty or danger, we always have a choice: Should I stay or should I go?There are also other times we feel the pressure to give up, but we know we need to persevere. Psalm 11 is for these times. It’s about how to pray when you feel like giving up. Are you feeling the pressure to give up in some area? Are you asking if you should stay or go? Or do you know that you need to persevere?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk