June ’21: Prayer and Finding Security
By Jack Young
For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. (Italics mine; Psalm 18: 31, 32)
This month’s prayer theme is Prayer and Finding Security. We all need and look for security. What is the security you are looking for? Have you found that security in God?
In the work I do as a counselor/psychologist, I see many who are looking for security but often in the wrong places. The foundation of our security really comes from the early years of our lives in the relationship with our parents. Unfortunately a lot of us have unknowingly experienced significant disruptions in our lives that have led to a poor foundation often leaving us with a deep sense of insecurity.
What is the security that we need? Psalm 18 gives us a glimpse of what that may be. God is the Rock who “arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.” He is the rock, He is unmovable and solid. As children this is what is needed from parents – the sense of stability that will arm us with strength. When children find that they can always turn to someone who will be there for them helping them feel protected, they will become strong from the inside, feeling that sense of confidence. This will become the security that is needed.
When we don’t find this we often turn to “idols” that become the substitute for our security. In our modern days these idols can be our achievements, material gains, status or position in life, and even other people. These are not good replacements but we are often deceived to believe that they are the real things for us. So turning to God to find our security is the right thing to do. Praise God if you have been doing this in your time of feeling troubled. Praise Him that you are finding the security you longed for. For He is the Rock that bids us to turn to Him.
However, have you been disappointed when you did try to turn to Him? I have spoken to people who were quite fervent in the church yet has found that their prayers are often like talking to themselves. May I ask you to reflect if you have turned to Him and asked for the right thing? It is not about asking for this or getting that to make us feel more secure. It is about inviting God to be our security. As the psalmist says that God is “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows…” (Psalm 68:5). He wants to be that “father” or mother that wasn’t there for you to give you back the security that you lacked. If you have difficulty feeling heard by God ask the Holy Spirit to pray for you or allow the Spirit to help search your heart for any resistance to God. If you still find yourself merely “talking to yourself” please seek out a pastor or someone you trust to share this with. May you experience the peace of finding your security in His arms.