My guess is that most prayer is done either side of “normal.” When we feel things are going extra well, we tend to praise the Lord more fervently, and when things are not going well, we tend to seek God’s help more fervently.
Any Christian that has endured intense financial hardship has done so in the company of Faith and Fear. Though Faith would have pointed out that Fear was a destructive guest, Fear’s presence would have felt so familiar that it didn’t seem totally out of place.
No one is alone in their fears of hardship. However, fear during tough times may bring sympathy, but it also brings doubts amidst that solace. And let me assure you, doubts are nowhere to be found in the formula that adds up to Fearlessness. Although some preachers, in some strange effort to save us from shame, have tried to water-down the dangers of doubt, they do so outside the teachings of Jesus on the matter.
Remember, Jesus did not congratulate Thomas for being a good apologist by demanding evidence in order to believe in Jesus’ resurrection. Instead, Jesus chided all of his disciples for having doubts about something they should have expected to happen all along. Luke tells us that when Jesus appeared out of nowhere: “They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?’” (Luke 24:37-38).
Fearlessness is a state sustained by doubtless-faith! It is only in the presence of the Lord, and by the strength of the Lord, that such faith can free us from fearfulness.
Amidst the tears poured forth over the destruction of Jerusalem in 586BC, a broken-hearted Jeremiah said,
“You came near when I called you, and you said, ‘Do not fear.’” (Lamentations 3:57).
John Staiger
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