How long, Lord? Where are you, Lord? Have you forgotten me, Lord?
How often those of us who have spent lonely, desperate days in the wilderness of pain or loss have lifted these cries to God! King David did. Jan and I did. And so have many others. It doesn't matter who we are, but time in the wilderness seems to demand more than we have to give. It leaves us feeling helpless and utterly alone. It leaves us wondering if even God has abandoned us.

Jan and I have learned that the wi (continued)...

At one time or another, most wilderness travelers experience the desperate feeling of being utterly alone and lost.  The Psalms remind us that others have suffered through the wilderness and have discovered that God is faithful.  May these selected Psalms bring refreshment, comfort, and the hope that no matter how barren the landscape or how weary you become, God will never abandon you.

Others have journeyed through the wilderness before us.
Lord, have m (continued)...

For the past five years, Melanie Cooper has battled a cancerous tumor in her arm. She has faced the wilderness of pain, fatigue, and uncertainty. During the summer of 1995, she could take no more. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted, she was beginning, as she says, to lose hope that these powerful medicines would destroy the tumor without destroying me first." So she took a six-month break from chemotherapy in order to rest and restore her health. Her health-restoration plan in (continued)...

Once upon a time there lived a young pastor and his lovely family. The pastor and his wife loved each other very much. They were happy in their work and very devoted to their children, Jonathan and Allison.  The path they walked together seemed so good. The future seemed bright and secure. But late in the summer of Jonathan's fourth year, he got sick-very sick. Five weeks later, the beautiful, blond-haired, blue-eyed boy died of an undiagnosed illness. . .

That's how I entered the (continued)...

This issue of The Encourager is about being in the wilderness. Whether that wilderness is the great outdoors or the wilderness of pain experience. What do you need? How can you prepare? Our Wilderness Survival Guide highlights the necessary requirements for surviving a wilderness journey.

The Wilderness Outdoors  The first rule of survival is to build a shelter. If you don't have a tent or tarp, use branches or other natural materials to build one. Choose a site a (continued)...

Somewhere along the journey through pain and suffering, most of us reach a point where we no longer have the strength, the will, the words, or even the thoughts to pray. And at the same time we long to connect with God. We may long for Him to give us the answers we seek. We may long for Him to reach down from heaven and intervene in an impossible situation. We may long simply to know that He has not abandoned us in our place of pain.

I know I reached that point in my battle with cance (continued)...

Sometimes the pain of life in the midst of suffering becomes more than we can bear. It did for Roger Wilkin. His story is painful, but the simple prayer of his dying son touched his heart and enabled him to continue on.

Life was full and rich. I was the first college graduate from either side of my family. I had worked hard and the world had rewarded me. A wonderful home in the suburbs. A job that I loved and that paid well. A beautiful wife and daughter. And now, to round out life per (continued)...

The Bible tells us that we are God's precious children, and His greatest desire is for a close relationship with us. Like a loving parent, God is always listening for our cries to Him. The following portions of the Psalms assure us of God's attentive ear.

Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my tho (continued)...

In any relationship, communication is an ongoing learning process. We don't always understand the other person, hear what is on the other person's heart, and we find it difficult to work through misunderstandings. We feel hurt, we withdraw, we build walls in an effort to protect ourselves. Our communication becomes strained, sometimes nonexistent. It happens in our relationships with friends, parents, children, and spouses. And it can happen in our relationship with God.

Never is thi (continued)...

We tend to think that prayer should come easily to us, and many times it does. But prayer in the face of suffering can be a different story. We are often surprised when prayer becomes difficult, when it seems fruitless, when the needs of the moment are so overwhelming that we don't know where to begin. During these times, it's easy to lose confidence in our ability to pray or in God's willingness to respond.

The truth is, prayer can be hard work. Oswald Chambers describes it as not a (continued)...

Aside from the fact that we are to pray in the name of Jesus, who opens the door to our intimate relationship with God, there is no correct" posture or way to pray. Note the different ways people in the Bible prayed:
Jeremiah stood before God to pray for his people (Jeremiah 18:20).
Peter knelt to pray (Acts 9:40).
Nehemiah sat down when he prayed (Nehemiah 1:4).
Abraham prostrated himself while praying (Genesis 17:3).
Ezekiel prayed in a loud voice (Ezekiel 11:13).
Hannah p (continued)...

It isn't unusual to struggle with knowing how to pray for a suffering friend, particularly if your friend's suffering is severe or long lasting. If you find yourself not knowing what to pray, ask your friend for specific requests. If that isn't possible or if you need more suggestions, consider the following list of the most frequent prayer requests that The Outreach of Hope staff receives from cancer patients and their families. Accompanying each request is a related passage from the Bible t (continued)...

When those we love are suffering, we often feel helpless and wish we could do more to help. The good news is, we can help. We can pray.

Prayers for a suffering friend are an incredible gift of love. Illness and its accompanying exhaustion, mind-fogging medications, and weariness of soul can make it difficult for those who suffer to pray for themselves. What a great blessing it is to know that someone is praying for your needs when you are incapable of praying for yourself.

Th (continued)...