Lord God Almighty, let me not forsake You by lingering too long in a pit of anguish. There is no solace in self-pity. Unprayed laments are like mire that keep the soul stuck in pride. Summon me to the altar where my prayers become my offering. Though my words be filled with distress and my heart clouded with sorrow, I know the grace of Your love will not turn me away. No matter my burdens they are nothing compared to the weight of the world’s sins You were crushed by in the garden. My mortal heart cannot conceive of all You willingly endured when my guilt was imputed to You. And with all that peculiar force pressing on You, You went to the Father in prayer. It is there You were strengthened and resolved to do the will of the Father. Lead me to follow Your example, Lord Jesus. Stormy sorrows come but they do not have to remain. Trouble is a cup all participants in a fallen world drink from. Trial is part of the journey. Let me not waste time avoiding it as I instead seek Your presence in the midst of it. Expose my vulnerabilities and I will take cover behind the shield of faith. There are many avenues through which trouble can intersect the path of life You have set me upon – health, family, thoughts, work, and finances. The holiest path of narrow submission is not blocked off from such intrusion. Yet in You, Jesus, I can navigate the road despite the unwelcome companions attempting to lead me astray. I will speak to You of my sorrows, believing with confidence that nothing is too trivial to set before You. Let the mark of my faith be that I travel the road of eternity with my best Friend, a doting Brother, the One I will keep nothing back from. The One who walks between me and my troubles as a buffer until it is only us on the path again. Under the truth set down in 2 Corinthians 1:5 and the authority of Christ, I pray.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
2 Corinthians 1:5, ESV