Cast Your Cares On God

Cast Your Cares On God
Posted on Jan 29, 2017 in Devotions
By: Pastor Jessie Arce

“Let us pray” – Ready to lie down on our bed, my wife Mercy and I will hold hands together and start to pray. We pray in audible voice, the other one agreeing by saying ‘Amen’. We pray alternately for the many concerns and issues of our church. We pray for those who are in need of healing, in need of spiritual strength & restoration, in need of relational blessing, in need materially, as well as pray for the salvation of people.
 
And then the following night we pray for our children, their families and ministries. We also ask God to bless and help our biological brothers and sisters (by name) together with their families and their ministries. And lastly we pray for pastors and missionaries in the US and in other countries. When we wake up in the morning, we do devotions by reading the Bible and prayer individually. This cycle goes on every week.
 
God said “It is not good for man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him” – (Gen.2:18). My wife and I are helping each other spiritually. Not only do we pray together, we also learn from each other continuously during times that we talk about issues in the church and correct each other if needed. We make sure that our conversation is constructive and not to find fault with others, but to understand where they are coming from, and then we pray for them. There are even times that we rebuke each other when needed.

Church work is not easy because it involves people. Not only are there spiritual challenges; there will be emotional, intellectual, financial and physical challenges. Church is a 24 hours’ work: you think about them, you carry their burdens by praying for them, and you are there for them when in need, with the ultimate purpose that they can do the same for one another as a natural spill over of discipleship and mission.
 
We have to be victorious and walk on top of all those challenges everyday and the only way we can do it is by developing a close personal relationship with the Lord by praying together as husband and wife, to be open to one another and work together. What we need is not the removal of all of those challenges but strength to keep on going and be an overcomer (which He already provided in Christ) so that we can effectively minister to God’s family and share it for others to know Christ as an expression of evangelism.
 
And the best part is this: once you cast all those challenges on Him, it will just be normal routines of life as if it is not already a stress or pressure on our part. It is a way for us to develop a close personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ experiencing how He cares.