Oak Hill Church of Christ 1-26-25 Message: "Give IT to God"

Oak Hill Church of Christ preaching minister, Randy Sterling, delivers a message on the value of coming to God in prayer when dealing with life's struggles.

God foremost views Himself as our Father. Among the many titles and great names God has, the message of His Son Jesus is that He loves being our Father the most.

God does not call Himself our rich uncle, our cool teacher, our friendly psychiatrist, or our successful friend. God is our Father, and He wants to engage with us at that level.

Jesus, whenever he sought God's attention and help, prayed to his Father, showing us that we should, too, by way of the "Lord's Prayer".

We might fool ourselves into thinking that because God already knows what we need and what problems we're having, that somehow praying to Him about those things is a kind of affront to His power. We might also think that we've asked Him for too much lately, and so we need to take this challenge on alone. We might, perhaps, even be in fear that our circumstances are a result of a punishment given to us by God for our sinfulness, and talking to God about it is just going to offend Him.

The Bible suggests otherwise. As God's children, we have a unique and special opportunity to ask God, our Father, for help when we're in trouble, because part of what God wants from us is not just obedience but relationship. When we reach out to God for help, we deepen that relationship and show God that we love and turn to Him when we're in trouble, just as Jesus did.

It's hard to argue against the fact that Jesus had a pretty rough end to his ministry. Yet, we see no indication that Jesus gave up, or believed God was tired of him. His troubles only strengthened his resolve. Likewise, Job was beside himself with suffering, and, yet, he remained prayerful and devoted to God even in his darkest moments.

Whatever you're dealing with, whatever issues you might have or problems you're encountering, use them as an opportunity to deepen your relationship with God. Tell Him about your issues, your struggles, your doubts, your concerns. Then, leave those things with Him and trust Him to resolve them. Don't bear those burdens anymore, leave them with God and do as Jesus instructed when it comes to anxiety: "Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33) and see that God will handle the rest.