Topic: There’s No Recovery Without Prayer [RICK WARREN Devotional 24 July 2021]
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There’s No Recovery Without Prayer
BY RICK WARREN — JULY 24, 202156Shares
“The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned . . . Now pray to the LORD to take these snakes away.’ So Moses prayed.”
Numbers 21:7 (GNT)What happens when you add prayer to your recovery process? You begin to heal from your hurts, habits, and hang-ups.
But many people try to recover from problems on their own—without turning to God in prayer. This never works because there is no lasting recovery without prayer.
There are many examples of prayer leading to recovery in the Bible. One example is found in the Old Testament. After God had rescued the Israelites from Egypt, there was a 40-year delay in getting to the Promised Land. This delay was their own fault. They didn’t like where they were, and they didn’t like the food—the manna—that God had provided for them.
The Bible says, “The people were very discouraged; they began to murmur against God and to complain against Moses” (Numbers 21:4-5 TLB). They could have taken their problems to God in prayer. Instead, they turned against God.
Then God sent poisonous snakes, and many people got bitten and became sick. The Israelites knew the only solution was to ask Moses to pray for them—and he did. Then God gave Moses a plan. He told Moses: “Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover” (Numbers 21:8 CSB). And they did recover!
God is a God of recovery. In fact, the entire mission of Jesus was (and is) a search and recovery mission—“to seek and to save people who are lost” (Luke 19:10 GW).
Maybe you’re feeling lost and discouraged today. You’re thinking, “This is just taking too long. I should be further down the road. I’m too old to not be where I thought I’d be at this stage in my journey.”
That’s okay! When you don’t like where you are in life, it often makes you want to be where you need to be. Don’t let your discouragement keep you from God. Instead, let it lead you to pray.
No matter what kind of delays and difficulties come into your life, recovery is on the way when you turn to God in prayer.
- Describe a time you felt discouraged about a problem. Did you try to recover on your own? Or did you turn to God in prayer? What was the outcome?
- Why do you think people try to recover from hurts, habits, and hang-ups on their own—without turning to God in prayer?
- Do you feel comfortable bringing your complaints to God? Why or why not?