We’ve heard all the old adage “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” It conveys the feeling of being backed up against the wall with no clear options while your brain desperately scans for a solution to get you out of the situation.

I think we all agree we are in desperate times right now. If ever a year could have had a skip button, this is the year it would be pushed. New Year’s Eve 2019 seems like eons ago, not just mere months. Remember when 2020 was touted as “The Year”? Everything in our lives was supposed to come together and have a fresh start. It makes me chuckle now, just thinking about it. Because it’s “The Year,” alright – the year no one will forget.

If I ever needed daily wisdom, it is now. If I ever needed truth, it is now. Thankfully, I know Truth and Wisdom. He is my friend. Clarity and fresh vision do not come just because a page flips on the calendar. It comes from listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd.

I’ve been chewing a lot on the references in scripture of the sheep knowing the voice of the Shepherd. As voices and opinions loudly surround me, I find myself craving his voice. You know when there’s a lot of noise around you and you’re trying to have a conversation with someone and you have to focus completely on their voice and read their lips or you miss what they’re trying to tell you? That describes how I’m feeling, needing to be completely dialed in to God, reading his lips. His voice alone can be trusted.

I found myself backed up against the wall a few years back when our daughter was in middle school. Those years come with unique challenges, and on top of it she was diagnosed with a condition that required hours of home therapy. Her smile left her eyes for a time, but every ounce of mom sleuthing couldn’t get her to talk about it. She would paste a smile on her face and say, “I’m fine.” I knew she was not “fine,” but she was not willing or able to talk about her swirly insides.

During this time, I was reading a book called Moving Mountains by John Eldridge. He proposes the idea of asking Jesus, “How are you praying for this situation?”, instead of just praying for the situation to change. Jesus intercedes for us all the time! (Romans 8:34) He writes that God goes after the heart of a matter, but we tend to just want out of the difficult situation we are in.

Out of desperation, I turned toward the Shepherd’s voice, and my prayers changed. No longer praying for what I thought was the right thing (wanting an end to the situation), I started asking Jesus what he was praying for her. The Creator knows what each of us needs every day!

So, every day, I asked him, “How are you praying for Jaci today?” Then I was quiet and listened for the still, small voice. Amazingly, the prayer I sensed he was praying always ended up being the right thing for that day. Sometimes he gave me a heads up on what she needed emotionally and spiritually, while other times it was specific things for her body. Often my mouth would drop open because we were praying for things that had never even entered my mind! Praying this way took the striving out of prayer. It was a relief knowing that I was joining with my heavenly Father, who was even more invested in Jaci than I! There was peace in my heart, even though I was still highly concerned.

Sometime later she went to a youth camp where God met her, and she has never been the same. She came home, changed. With bright, shining eyes that I had missed, she told me what happened, how Jesus healed her heart. Now she felt a lightness in her spirit she hadn’t felt for a long time. She also shared that she had been struggling with thoughts of suicide. And that she had wanted to tell us, but somehow, could not. We had had no idea. But! Jesus knew and was interceding.*

Praying like this has changed me, and I have continued to pray like this, whether it’s for me, my family or others. I lean in to hear the voice of my Shepherd and read his lips. The peace is indescribable.

Since March, the beautiful words of this song keep floating into my consciousness:
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace; in every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the whelming flood; when all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand! All other ground is sinking sand.

So, if you’re feeling desperate and your back is up against the wall and you don’t know what to do, try asking Jesus how he’s praying. His voice is kind and gentle and will fill you with hope, love and peace.
*shared with permission