Have you ever experienced a crisis? Of course, you have. We all do. I once heard that the average family experiences at least one medical emergency or some type of crisis every ten years. I thought, “That’s extremely conservative.” We seem to have some sort of crisis every ten days! Sometimes every ten minutes! 

The struggle bus seems to have my house on its regular route. So how do we pray in times of crisis? How do crises affect our prayers and our walk with Jesus?

Asaph was a singer and musician of the lineage of Levi. He along with others were put in charge of the music in the Lord’s temple by King David. He is credited with writing 12 of the psalms in our Bible. He wrote this psalm as a prayer of desperation.

Psalm 77:1-20, “I cry aloud to God,

aloud to God, and he will hear me.

2 I sought the Lord in my day of trouble.

My hands were continually lifted up

all night long;

I refused to be comforted.

3 I think of God; I groan;

I meditate; my spirit becomes weak.Selah

4 You have kept me from closing my eyes;

I am troubled and cannot speak.

5 I consider days of old,

years long past.

6 At night I remember my music;

I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders.

7 “Will the Lord reject forever

and never again show favor?

8 Has his faithful love ceased forever?

Is his promise at an end for all generations?

9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Selah

10 So I say, “I am grieved

that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”[a]

11 I will remember the Lord’s works;

yes, I will remember your ancient wonders.

12 I will reflect on all you have done

and meditate on your actions.

13 God, your way is holy.

What god is great like God?

14 You are the God who works wonders;

you revealed your strength among the peoples.

15 With power you redeemed your people,

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.Selah

16 The water saw you, God.

The water saw you; it trembled.

Even the depths shook.

17 The clouds poured down water.

The storm clouds thundered;

your arrows flashed back and forth.

18 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;

lightning lit up the world.

The earth shook and quaked.

19 Your way went through the sea

and your path through the vast water,

but your footprints were unseen.

20 You led your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”

In Asaph’s prayer he questions whether God will continue to be faithful. He wonders if God has forgotten how to be gracious. 

We don’t know what Asaph was facing in his time of need and sorrow, but he says he remembers the works of the Lord. He remembers his power to redeem his people. He praises God for his power and strength. 

When you have a hard day – when crisis hits – how does that affect your view of God? Do you begin to question his goodness? Do you wonder, like Asaph, if God will continue to be faithful?

We had a tough week at the Christian summer camp I work at a few weeks ago. Thursday, in particular, was a very hard day. We had 81 campers and roughly 20 staff that week. I come down to the campground on Thursday morning around 7:00 am and learn that some sort of stomach bug has hit the camp. It hit fast and it hit hard. By the time I heard about it, it was already in every single cabin. 

I had sick kids. I had sick counselors, sick kitchen crew, sick work crew – and by supper time a sick cook and sick camp director. I scrambled to put the healthy staff with cabins without counselors and quarantine the ill. I arranged for water and gatorade to be sent to my quarantined cabins and checked in on them regularly to make sure they were taking in fluids. I spent hours on the phone calling parents to pick up their kids. Every time I turned around there was a new child throwing up. By 9:00 pm I had sent home 44 people between campers and staff. 

But Thursday is our big spiritual harvest day at camp. It always has been. We present a drama of select Bible stories along with the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus. We give an invitation and  we always have kids deciding to follow Jesus that day. 

All day long, we threw out the idea of not having the drama. It seemed imminent. By drama time, I had no Jesus, no thief on either cross, no Mary, no Barrabas. I basically had a Roman guard and a Judas. (Irony.)

Satan did not want that drama to happen. But you know what? We did it anyway. I was in the back of the chapel just moments from starting calling out to my staff, “You’re going to be a thief, you’re going to be Baraabbas. You’re going to be a sleeping disciple in the garden scene.” And you know what happened. 15 salvations and 5 rededications. That’s what happened. 

I stood at the back of the room as one of my leaders finished up giving the invitation for children to come speak to their counselor and I prayed. I said, “Lord, we did not face a day like today and work through all of this just so that no one would come to you. Let today be the day of salvation. I pray that you would move in the hearts of these children and that they would stand up right now and walk to their counselor and receive salvation. Do it, Lord.” 

And at that very moment, they did. In that dim room as the worship music played a mass of boys and girls stood up in response and I had a new thought. I have just overwhelmed my work crew turned counselors with a flood of kids who need to be counseled and prayed with. I hope they got this. And they did. They prayed with these kids. My kitchen crew prayed with kids. I prayed with kids. God did an amazing work.

Obviously, we didn’t want anyone to get sick. We are careful to keep things clean and sanitized. We follow standard health guidelines, but sometimes these things still happen. I certainly don’t want to repeat that Thursday. But even when Thursdays happen, God is still good. God is still moving. God is still working. 

Some people only go to God when they have a problem. That’s not a relationship. That’s a hotline. 

We need to know that we can come to God in good times and bad times. In moments of crisis, is prayer your go-to response? 

Do we trust him in the uncertainty or do we recall the works of the Lord? Asaph would say we must be honest but hopeful. The next time you find yourself in a crisis, don’t be afraid to ask questions of the Lord. But remember his promises; remember his deeds.

“I will remember the Lord’s works; yes, I will remember your ancient wonders. I will reflect on all you have done

and meditate on your actions.”