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Talk to Your Father

by Tim Sisarich

I must admit that I’m easily distracted. Particularly when I’m struggling with a problem that I don’t want to talk about with anyone – even though I should. But I recently pushed past the distractions and sent out an email to a bunch of friends, letting them know that I was going through an especially rough time … and still am, to be honest.

I essentially told them that there was nothing going on in my life worth sharing. What surprised me the most was that almost every single one of them came back and said that they, too, were going through the same sorts of struggles.

While it did make me feel relieved that I wasn’t alone, I was also pretty frustrated. Why do we insist on pretending that life is OK when it just isn’t?

Why can’t we be honest enough to tell our buddies that we can’t do what they’re doing because the credit card is maxed out, or that the bank just rejected our mortgage extension again? And why do we struggle to tell our kids that we’re just not coping well right now?

It’s as if we are too scared to share our struggles because talking about them out loud would somehow make them worse. Or maybe it’s because others will see us as failures.

And it’s often the same thing in our relationship with God. We don’t take things to Him in prayer because we feel we have to keep going – through our own strength – rather than admitting to Him that we’ve grown weak and weary.

Yet Jesus told us that we should make our requests and prayers known to our Father in Heaven. Christ reminded us that His Spirit is with us, that He comforts us and that He takes our burdens from us.

The closing prayer from week six of The Family Project Devotional speaks to my heart because it is such an honest plea:

Father, You have told us to be anxious for nothing … Help us always to come before You – when we are alone, when we are with friends or family, and when we are in a great congregation – so that we truly learn to pray without ceasing.

And to that I say, ‘Amen!’

Learn more about God’s irreplaceable design in The Family Project® – a 12-session DVD curriculum that explores why God’s plan for families matters today. Take your small group on a life-changing journey to strengthen and encourage families! Get The Family Project® curriculum today.

Tim Sisarich is a storyteller, presenter and author. He directed Focus on the Family’s documentary film, Irreplaceable, and is the host of The Family Project®.