A Pain In The…Well, It’s Your Choice! … Hello weekend readers. Again, I have a rather crazy devotion but here me out because it really is something we all encounter. For instance, Al has kidney stones again, he is not happy, it hurts but it won’t be long and he gets them out. In the meantime the doctor has given some thing to help the pain but it’s not really helping much. So we can say he has a “pain in the back!” For me, my lower back is bugging me and Al says “take your Ibuprofen” but I say “it’s not that bad so I’ll wait it out.” Dumb and dumber indeed!

But pain is just not in your body, pain is a pain in the—you can make up all kinds of words. When we feel pain that hurts us we know it’s time to do something, and the first call out is to ask God in prayer. But what do we do instead? We don’t do it. For me, I often decide that my situation isn’t really bad enough so I let it go. I love to pray for others; it is the back-bone of my connection to God where I know he hears my prayers and he is on it right away. I will ask close friends to pray for me and yet, I don’t pray for myself until I’m just about ‘dying’ so to speak. Obviously this is not a smart approach at all.

Medical professionals say that when treating pain, it’s important to stay ahead of it. My philosophy of waiting until I’m sure it’s the worst it will ever be is the wrong approach. And hesitating to ask for prayer support is not the best approach either, after all, Jesus calls believers to join in prayer for each other.

So what’s the problem? I think the problem is fear—not so much of our hurt but who we share it with. Can we count on them to be private instead of calling all kinds of people? I would hope so, but we all know that way too many times our problems get plastered all over social media and the pipeline of gossip.

Billy Graham once said “God urges us not only to pray and commit our burdens to Him, but to seek out others who will help us carry our burdens by their prayers.” What a delight it would be for each of us if that would happen. So how do we make that happen? We ask, we share, we hold each other accountable and we pray together to “seal the deal” so to speak.

We all struggle with a ‘pain in the…’ (put in your own words) and we all have been one of those pains for others as well. In our constant furry of running here and there, we quickly dismiss things that are painful and try to paint it over or forget about it, but that never works. Pain comes up and doesn’t stop until we learn to tame it, until we ask God in prayer to help it, and be bold enough to share it with someone who can help us out.

In my time as a pastor and chaplain, I have learned to not hide pain, but to ask for help. It still bothers me because I like to “take care of myself” but you have to learn that God did not make you to be alone so reach out. So don’t let your pride, or anything else, keep you from asking others to pray for you. Prayer is one of our greatest privileges and the Bible’s promise is true in 1 John 5:14 [NIV]: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

Each time I am prayed for by others, my hope is rekindled and I witness the change Jesus brings. Each time I pray for friends, I rejoice in being part of God’s answer for them. It’s a beautiful dose of pain relief that can be administered early and often and better yet, there is no prescription required! AMEN.