Ask the Lord for Help

Ask the Lord for Help

by Wayne Dailey
Senior Pastor, Bethel Revival Center
43 Norwood St.
Everett, MA 02149

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Are you happy today? Many people aren't happy: they're in trouble, they're lacking, they don't know what to do, they're down and out, they're lost in the way.

Is there any help for people like that? Do you believe God can do anything? Can He help someone like that?

There's one thing God cannot do: He cannot fail. No, God is not going to fail us when we look to Him for help.

One of the things we need to learn is how to turn our life over to Him. We all need help. But so many don't seem to know who to look to for the help they need.

God shows us in His Word what He'll do for us, how He will help us in times of trouble, how He can be as a shelter to us — if we'll turn to Him.

Surrender Your All to God

Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

We want to keep open in our hearts and minds. Maybe something will come out of this message to help someone realize they could turn those problems they're having over to the Lord.

But it takes something:

You know, when you turn to the Lord for that which you need, don't beg — ask. You don't have to beg God for anything: merely ask.

Matthew 7:7
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you

We need God, and we need His help. He is the one who can solve our problems.

Life is beautiful, but it's hectic when everything you have seems to be falling apart and you don't know what to do for yourself. Those who really yield to God, surrendering their heart to Him, and going on to walk with Him, surely find what life is all about.

Psalm 107:6
Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses.

God is faithful. If we take our Bible and are willing to sit down and read it, taking it into our hearts, we'll soon find out that what God says, God does.

God shows Himself as being faithful to those who are in Christ Jesus, to those who are His children. Everybody should want to have this relationship with God — but not everybody goes after it.

You Must Have Jesus

Is Jesus your Lord? Is He your Saviour?

How do you receive a relationship with Jesus? That one word: ask!

If Jesus isn't your Lord and Saviour, turn to Him and really believe in Him to the saving of your soul. When you do, you'll find that He's right there to lead and guide you, right there to help you when troubles arise.

If you want to know the Lord, want to love the Lord, want to walk with the Lord, want to become a child of God and have His blessing on your life, you've got to ask.

How do you ask? Just start to pray, start to pour your heart out to God, start seeking Him and asking of Him.

Don't neglect the one Source there is. Know that if you go to God, you will find great problems solved for you.

Depend on God Alone

Have you been depending on things which do not help but, rather, make it only worse? We want to look at a woman in the Bible who was in this state:

Mark 5:25-28
And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched His garment. For she said, If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole.

I don't know who did her a favor, but somebody blessed her. Somebody dropped something into her heart and mind about Jesus Christ. Somehow she found out about Jesus, and she was determined to find Him and find what He could do for her.

Here's a woman using every ounce of faith she had, saying within herself, "If I could just touch the hem of His garment, I know I shall be made whole." She was starting to put her faith to use: "If I . . . I Know that I'll be made whole."

Ask in Faith

Faith is really important. Man is generally wringing his hands, saying, "I don't know what to do! I just don't know what to do," never stopping to realize that heaven is willing to help.

Mark 5:27,28
When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched His garment. For she said, If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole.

Down the road she went looking for Jesus. When she found Him, there was a crowd around Him. She had to press her way through so she could touch the hem of His garment.

Mark 5:29
And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

This woman got the idea right: "If I could just touch the hem of His garment, I know . . ."

You've got to put faith there. Learn that if you believe God, you're going to get somewhere — if you ask, and if you ask in faith believing.

Don't hesitate to ask largely: Ask for what you need. Ask God to help you with your troubles.

This woman was in severe trouble. She couldn't do anything to help herself. She had suffered with an issue of blood for years. Even though she spent all she had trying to find the help she needed, she was only made worse. Nobody could help.

Yet one encounter of touching the hem of Jesus' garment made her whole.

Faith, now. Faith did that. This was her faith: "If I can but touch the hem of His garment, I know I will be made whole."

That's faith talking now in this woman's heart. She believed it, and she got what she needed.

Learn how to use the power of God. Let the power of God really work in your life. Keep your eyes on Jesus!

"All I need to do is find that man Jesus. If I find the Son of God, He can help me." He helped her, all because she acted in faith. She could have been like so many and walked away, crying: "There's no use! Nobody can help me. There's no way for me to get out of this state."

You could be out there bemoaning yourself, or you could be crying out, "Jesus, help me!"

Yes, ask Him for help. He can help you, no matter how impossible it may seem to be. This is how people find the blessings of the Lord: by asking in faith believing.

Psalm 86:7
In the day of my trouble I will call upon Thee: for Thou wilt answer me.

Many who love the Lord learned a long time ago they can trust God. They can put their faith in Him and then watch and see how He will help them, time after time, to rise up out of the troubles that come their way.

Who doesn't have troubles? We all find those times when we need help.

To some, it's as though they had a dog named Troubles who is always grabbing their leg to drag them down.

Do you need help today? Can God help you? Will He help you?

What did this woman do to get help? She had heard that Jesus was able to help, and she said, "I know if I but touch the hem of His garment I shall be made whole." Jesus told her that her faith made her whole: "Go your way, your faith has made you whole."

Use Your Faith

Your problem may be that you don't have any faith . . . at least you think you don't have any faith. But God said He gave to every man the measure of faith; you just have to use it (see Romans 12:3).

Yes, you must learn to use your faith. If you do, you'll find such great help. If you surrender your life and straighten up your ways and start to live for the Lord from your heart, you'll find God's faithfulness in your life.

When you eat out of God's hand, you don't have to worry about your next meal, for He always has something more.

How faithfully He takes care of His own.

Begin to think a little more about His blessings. He wants to help you, but you've got to learn what to do. Be thankful you can find a way to get help with the problems you face. So many are in trouble and don't know what to do, don't know where to look. Where can they find the help they need? They need to call on Jesus. He has the answer.

Now, this woman had heard something about Jesus that made the difference, making her to know she would be made whole if she could but touch the hem of His garment. It wasn't "maybe" or "perhaps." It wasn't, "I hope so." It was, "I know!"

Learn to Pray

You must bring faith into your life — added faith. That's just what some need. Using your faith will bring grace into your life that can help you with the problems. Get down on your knees and learn to pray. Find a private place at home where you can be alone to pray and talk with the Lord.

Yes, learn to pray. The disciples looked to Jesus to teach them how to pray. And He can teach you how to pray too.

When I got saved, I didn't think there was anything hard or difficult about praying. And when I began to read the Scriptures and saw what those great men of God did and what they went through, I began to realize what faith was all about and what it can accomplish.

We want to be in the place where we can touch lives for Jesus and help them find help to become free from the bondage of sin.

Ephesians 1:7
In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Do you know how serious it is for someone who has been forgiven of past sins to pick up sin again?

Sin is when you disobey God, when you start doing the things of the world again, when you don't follow on to serve God in all well-pleasing.

And sin will take one's soul all the way to hell.

You must put away your sin. You don't want to continue living with sin in your life, or you'll be in trouble every day. Sin won't get you into heaven.

There are many things plainly called sin that can bring you down to the point where you'll miss out on eternal life. The sins of your old nature will only hold you back. If you're looking for God to help you, you need to get sin out of your life — just give it up.

And if you give it up, don't go back to pick it up again. If you throw it away, don't grab it back tomorrow. You want to be free from those things — and stay free.

That's where the Lord would work and move to help you.

Don't be one whose testimony is: "I was doing pretty good, but then I got back on cigarettes again, I got back to drinking again, I got back to . . . again."

Those things are called sin. If you go back, then you're in the place where you were before.

Ephesians 1:8
Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence

He has abounded toward us: This is God reaching out to us, wanting to help us. Think about this: You want God to help you; you need His help, and prayer is where you're going to find it, because you take the time to ask. Pray, and ask God to help you straighten out your life, and you will find He will be there for you.

Psalm 9:9,10
The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.

A lot of lives are in such a mess, such a turmoil. They cry out, "I can't make it! I can't make it!"

And without Jesus this is true — they may not make it. But if they put their faith and trust in Him, He will bring them through.

Ask for Salvation

Maybe you need a little more of Jesus in your life. Come to Him in prayer. Ask Him to come into your heart to forgive your sin and cleanse your soul.

That's the secret. He will save your soul, and you'll begin to find the help you need.

This is the most important thing we can ask Him for: the salvation of our soul. Without salvation what would become of us?

Ephesians 1:9
Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself

Having made known to whom? To us.

How much God cares for us. I can't stress that enough. You turn your life over to Jesus and start to walk down this road of faith with Him, and you'll find that you have Someone who will help you.

Call on God

Yes, He'll help you when troubles are all around. All you need to do is call on Him.

Jeremiah 33:3
Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

Why did He say such strong words as these? Because there are those needing help, and He wants them to know they will find the help they need if they call on Him.

You need to take hold of things like this: Call on Him. Call on Him until you see those things. Realize that He wants you to get your life straightened out; He'll help you to clean house — to get out of that awful mess, that sinfulness.

Those things will hinder you unless you get them out of the way. If you keep putting it off, you may die in your sin, and then what?

Free from Bondage

When someone has sins they just can't lay down, we call that being bound.

You want to be in the place of getting help. As long as you want those sinful things, you'll stay bound. But you can easily straighten your life out if you want to by turning to Jesus.

Or you can be bound with the same old things next year and the year after that and the year after that . . . Bound! You've got to have more mind than that. Don't be mindless to continue on in sin, feeling you can't live without it.

Those things, such as alcohol and cigarettes and drugs, will rob you of what you could have in Jesus. You'll ever be finding troubles, all because those things are controlling your life.

Just stomp your foot and declare you're no longer going that way. You're not going to let the devil keep you down any longer — no more! "No more booze. No more drinking. No more smoking. No more drugs. I'm going to start to serve Jesus and live the way He wants me to live."

John 10:10
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

The devil comes into your life and robs you, and then you wonder what's wrong. You're going the wrong way. Give your life to Jesus and you'll get the devil off your back.

Can people really get out of the mess they're in by turning to Jesus?

Listen, you may be having so much trouble, but you can stop it if you call on the Lord with true repentance and seek His help.

Is this message too much for you? If it is, is the problem because I'm telling you the truth?

That old stuff is making you a sinful person. Get it out of your life. Let Jesus come into your life, and you'll find true happiness and joy. You want God's blessing? Turn your life to Jesus. What stops you? Merely call on Him: "Lord, come into my heart. Forgive me of my sins."

I get so stirred when I see people who are struggling and can't get past the mess. They don't have enough backbone to say: "I'm not going to live this way any longer. I'm not going to let my life be brought down any farther. I'm going to turn to Jesus and clean up my life."

Why be bound any longer? It would be better to be like the woman who had the issue of blood. She was sick and tired of being in that state. She found Jesus, and when she touched the hem of His garment, she was made whole right there.

You might be that person who keeps going down that road filled with troubles and not knowing what to do. You have to stop and turn your life over to Jesus. Do you think He'd feel skittish telling you to get rid of your cigarettes, to stop destroying your lungs?

Keep on smoking, and after awhile you'll find it is hard to take a breath. Your wife can't even have decent furniture in the house because you burn holes in everything. But you say you've got to have it.

The things that go on: the smoking, the drinking. Those type of things have brought so many to the graveyard.

I don't mind speaking up against these things.

If you feel deep enough in your heart that I've been telling you the truth, turn to the Lord and seek deliverance from those bondages. Don't be afraid to speak up: "Lord, I'm in trouble. I need your help. Lord, come and help me."

He won't give you a hard time because you asked for help. He wants to help you and set you free to serve Him in holiness and righteousness — free from all those bondages. Oh, what great things He will do — all because you turned to Him, asking Him to help you.

If you're in bondage, this message should bother you. You should be troubled about those things that keep you down. You should be troubled about that smoking, about that drinking, about those drugs.

You can live without those sinful things. But it will take some spiritual effort on your part. Turn to the Lord and ask for His help.

God is love! It's not "love is God," but "God is love." He loves you and He wants to help you.

He's not pleased to see someone destroying their life. He's not pleased to see someone smoking and smoking until they die from lung disease. It brings an awful catastrophe into their life. It doesn't have to be, but they will bring it on themselves if they continue in that sin.

Romans 6:1,2a
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid!!! (exclamation points mine)