Psalm 20

    1      May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble;
    May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
    2      May He send you help from the sanctuary,
    And strengthen you out of Zion;
    3      May He remember all your offerings,
    And accept your burnt sacrifice.
Selah

    4      May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,
    And fulfill all your purpose.
    5      We will rejoice in your salvation,
    And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
    May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.

    6      Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
    He will answer him from His holy heaven
    With the saving strength of His right hand.

    7      Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
    But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
    8      They have bowed down and fallen;
    But we have risen and stand upright.

    9      Save, LORD!
    May the King answer us when we call.
-Psalm 20

The only way in which the Lord can answer you, is if you ask first. When you are going through troubling times, do you go before the Lord with your prayers and petitions? It has become increasingly easy for us to trust ourselves before all else, and when all fails then we go to the Lord. In our battling we end up looking like those who trust in chariots and horses and have bowed down and fallen.

Here is where the problem lies: do you remember the name of the Lord in the midst of your trials? There have been many circumstances that I have gone through, warring by my own abilities until someone reminded me of the Lord or offered to pray for me. "Duh!" I would think to myself. "Why didn't I pray from the start?" I had forgotten to trust in the Lord. In fact, being so caught up in my problem it almost seems that I had forgotten about the Lord all together!

Do not forget the Lord in the midst of your trials. Rather stand firm in the grace of God, remembering Him, and trusting Him that you may stand upright. Surround yourself with those who will also remind you to come near to the Lord in your trials, or will very well lead you to seek Him altogether. Do not trust your own strength. The Lord is strong and is able.