Magdy Samuel

Serialized Articles From:
"Whom shall I fear"

Last Published Devotions

Chapter 3: 4

Practical Excerpts

 

  • Do not talk much with yourself when you are afraid.  Oftentimes, the worst person to talk with, during times of fear, is your self. Instead, immediately turn to talk with your God.

 

  • Learn to talk with the Lord every day, concerning small and large matters in your life.  For the small matters of your life are large in light of His love and your large matters are small in light of His power. 

 

  • If you are not able to focus in your conversation with your God, pray aloud or write down your prayers.

 

  • Do not allow your burdens to accumulate, but empty yourself of your burdens day-by-day. As the sun should not set on your wrath neither let the sun set on your burdens. Cast your burden when it is yet a small stone, before it turns into a large mountain.

 

  • When you place your matters in the hands of God, trust that He cares about it, and about you. Allow God's peace to fill you.  And do not leave the Lord’s presence with your burdens again. Experience what Naomi said to Ruth, after she met Boaz:  “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day” (Ruth 3: 18).


  • Do not talk much with people who will increase your fears, as did the friends of Job, but avoid such people.


  • Do not repeat the words in vain, reveling in your fears and burdens in your prayers, and thus inflating them.  But let the Spirit of God teach you how to pray as we should, and He will intercede for you with groans that words cannot express.


  • In your “purging prayers,” do not just pour out the burdens of your heart, but be filled with God’s amazing peace. Allow God to flood your heart with His peace. 


  • Trust that God is present and near to you, and that He hears prayers, therefore all people will come to Him. (Ps 65:2)  If you do not see Him, He sees you and He hears you and feels with you.  Experience daily that prayer is the greatest cure for suffering.  “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray” (James 5: 13).


  • Train yourself to talk to the Lord about your fears anywhere, anytime. Learn from Nehemiah how to raise your heart to the Lord, as he did during his conversation with the king (Nehemiah 2).

 

Prayer


O Lord, teach me how to seek Your face.  
         You, who said, “Seek my face,” let me lift my eyes away from my fears and circumstances and fix them on You

O Lord, teach me to pour out my heart before You, for before You, sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Don’t let me keep my burden inside me, but let me cast it before You.
Lord, teach me to minimize my talk to myself and with myself, and turn my talk to You and with You
How sweet is conversation with You, my Lord and my God.

O Lord, teach me to know that talking with You is better than talking with man.

Teach me that You understand me, and You hear my prayer.  You know my sighing and groaning, and everything is uncovered and laid bare before You, to whom I will give account.

O Lord, teach me and train me to commune with You, for You are closer to me than I can imagine.

 

Magdy Samuel