It’s so dark.
It’s so dank.
The air is heavy,
The atmosphere oppressive in this grotto,
The dungeon of despair,
And of hopelessness.
I have some friends down there.
They sit on the filthy floor among many others in the gloom,
Some hugging their knees,
All of them with their backs against the cold, stone wall,
Lining the circumference of the entire underground chamber.
They can barely breathe.
They have no energy.
No motivation.
Nowhere to go.
No direction.
No understanding of God’s purpose for their lives.
If they did get out of here,
Where would they go?
What would they do?
They see no brightness in their future.
Fear clutches their hearts.
Hopelessness registers on their faces.
Despair clings to them with icy fingers
And holds them down.
There is a hole in the ceiling of the horrible prison.
It’s big enough for a person to get through.
I lie by the hole in the semidarkness outside the prison
And try to remove the cover.
I recoil.
Slime and goo cover my hand. Ugh!
I can’t do it!
I can’t go down there to rescue them.
I’m too weak.
I could call and try to get their attention;
I could lower a rope.
But they are all staring blindly into the space in front of them.
None of them are even looking around for a way out.
Would any of them even see the rope that offers them hope?
As I lie there, I realize that Jesus came down once
Into this world of darkness and woe.
He came down to a hopeless world.
He, the Holy Son of God
Rubbed shoulders with our despair.
He came down from impeccable glory to hang in agony on a cross
To bring us hope.
He took the deplorable, disgusting, loathsome, sticky goo,
The sliminess of our sin
On His Holy Self,
That we might be forgiven,
That we might have hope.
I grieve and moan at what He had to go through for me.
And for them down there.
But HE is strong enough.
Strong enough to go down and pick them up
And bring them out of that vile vault of hopelessness!
What can I do?
I can pray.
I can call out to Jesus on behalf of my friends.
I can ask Him to go down to them in the dungeon of despair.
Please, Jesus,
Hold their hands,
Touch their hearts,
Catch their gaze with Your loving eyes,
Convince them that there is hope,
That You have a purpose for their lives,
That they have somewhere to go, and
That You will give them direction and strength and all that they need.
Show them the opening up above them.
Pick them up in your loving arms.
Rescue them from the desolate dungeon of despair,
And give them hope again.
Hope in You,
The Savior.
The Lover of their souls.
Their Rescuer,
Their Hero.
Bring them out of that wretched pit,
And set their feet on the Rock that never can be moved.
Save them and show them Your way.
Lead them on the path of Your light,
Your joy,
Your love,
Your hope,
Your peace.
Surround them with Your Strong Presence,
And lead them in newness of life.
Deliver them from the enemy of their souls,
And help them to walk with You on the path that You will show them,
Hand in hand with You,
Their Faithful Friend.
Forever.
In Jesus’ Name I pray,
Amen
Linking up with:
Fresh Market Friday, Faith Filled Friday
Spiritual Sundays, Dance with Jesus, Grace & Truth
Soul Survival, Moments of Hope, Glimpses
Amen! Thank you, Ruth. This really tugs at my heart. Sometimes I still get thrown down into that hopelessness, but Jesus again lifts me out. What amazing grace! I love how
“He, the Holy Son of God
Rubbed shoulders with our despair.
He came down from impeccable glory to hang in agony on a cross
To bring us hope.”
I can feel with you that helpless feeling to lift others out. There is so much hope in Jesus’ power to save!
Love and Hugs!
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Amen, Trudy! I just remembered a chorus that we used to sing, “I’m so glad Jesus lifted me, I’m so glad that Jesus lifted me, I’m so glad that Jesus lifted me, Glory! Hallelujah! Jesus lifted me!” And yes, sometimes He has to lift us up more than once. Life does have a way of batting us down, but Jesus knows us and sees us 24/7 and is always there to lift us up again.
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This is such a great prayer. And it’s encouraging that even when we feel helpless to do much in a situation we can pray and that is powerful. I love that there is always hope with Jesus.
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Yes, there is, Lesley! I love that Jesus answers our prayers with power and compassion! I like writing down prayers that I feel God has led me to pray so that I can pray them again later as many times as needed; also, the written prayer becomes a testimony of God’s grace and power when I look back at it and see how amazingly God has answered it!
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Amen. I think God calls certain ones to actually go down there and they’ll know exactly how. But we can always pray. Prayer is powerful.
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You are right, Kelly. God does call certain ones to go down there, and He prepares them to know what to do. But I have found in life that while we can minister to people and do and say all the right things, it is only by the power of God’s Word and God’s Spirit that their hearts will be changed. (Romans 10:16,17) We can do a lot of good for them, and we should try, but I believe that lifting the person and their need up to God in prayer must accompany all successful efforts to bring them hope. Prayer is powerful because we have a God with whom all things are possible.
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This is such a powerful description of that hopelessness and despair that comes from being apart from God’s love. And how powerful your description of deeply loving those who still live there. Thank you for sharing this!
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Thank you, Nicole, for your gracious comment. I sense the compassion of the Lord in your words. May He help us daily to be surrendered to Him and filled with compassion for those around us. May He continue to give us more and more of a burden for the lost and a willingness to rub shoulders with the hopeless like Jesus did. May we rely fully on Him to move in their lives and set them free.
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Wow, what a beautiful prayer, Ruth. Amen and amen. Thanks for sharing it with us today. ((hug))
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Thanks, Brenda, and thanks for the opportunity.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights.” James 1:17
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Wow! Not only can the Lord deliver us He can deliver our friends from that horrible pit too.
Amen! Lovely poem, sis😊
Hugs Ruth. How are you?
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Amen, and thank you, Ifeoma!
Hugs to you as well. 🙂
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This makes me think of the song. ‘Love lifted me…’ In lovingkindess JESUS came, and He has lifted us out of the despair: I’m so thankful you reminded us to pray for our friends that are in distress.
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I can see that, Emily! “Souls in danger look above, Jesus completely saves,
He will lift you by His love…Love lifted me…” I can hear the music in my head. 🙂
Now to remember that He didn’t save us for us to keep the good news to ourselves, but to share it, so others may be rescued, as well.
Thanks for your encouraging comment!
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What a beautiful prayer and so full of hope and love! I’m your neighbor at #Glimpses. Blessings to you!
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Thank you, Gayl, and blessings to you as well.
May we all pray this for those who are in such a need of God’s help.
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Beautiful and poignant. I especially love this: Surround them with Your Strong Presence,
And lead them in newness of life. -AMEN
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Yes, Sarah, and may this be our prayer often for those who need His deliverance!
God is so good, and He loves everyone so much more than we tend to realize. May He give us His love for the lost, and may we bring the burden that results to Him in prayer.
Thank you for your kind comment.
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When we feel helpless we can ask the question, ‘what can I do’. Knowing that God has the power to save those who are still searching for Him, is so amazing. And to think that we get to partner with Him is humbling to say the least.
Blessings to you!
Marva | SunSparkleShine
Visiting from #TestimonyTuesday
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Amen, and blessings to you, as well, Marva!
Thanks for your visit and comment! 🙂
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Such a beautiful prayer. Thank you for sharing your encouragement here.
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Thank you, Barbie, for hosting! May the Lord bring souls to Himself as we each pray for those He puts in our paths.
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What a beautiful poem of hope, Ruth! Wow
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Oops! I accidentally hit “enter” when I wasn’t finished yet!
Thank you so much for sharing this hope with us at #MomentsofHope. What a blessing!
Lori
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Thanks, Lori! Thank you for hosting the linkup and for the opportunity to share. 🙂
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