A rodeo cowboy’s life can be full of trouble.  We can have trouble with our rig, trouble with finances, trouble getting up right, trouble with finances, trouble with our horse, and more trouble with finances.  Cowboys and their wives are tough and have learned to ‘cowboy up’ to get by.  But is there a better way to get through the troubles on the rodeo road—a way that we can become better people and see our troubles turn into blessings? 

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Friends can help, banks can help, but the best help is going to God.    
 

If we are calling on God constantly in prayer, and have Him as the center of our lives, whatever happens can make us better instead of bitter.

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Psalm 86 is entitled ‘a prayer of David’; probably it was a prayer he often used himself, and recommended to others for their use, especially in a day of affliction.” (Matthew Henry) 

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Psalm 86 starts with, ​

“Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer.  Answer me, for I need your help.” 

He says, ​

“Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord, hear my urgent cry. 

I will call to You whenever trouble strikes, and You will answer me.” (86:1,3,7) 

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Going to God is the best way to get through troubles.

 

•     Prayer in the time of trouble brings comfort, help, hope and blessings. 
•     God wants to work on our behalf, He wants to help us and deliver us from our troubles.
•     When we take our troubles to God we can know that He is working them out for our very best. We cannot always see Him working, but when we ask, He works for us.
•     Prayer opens our eyes to see God’s hand working in our lives.  It helps us to realize we are not in this alone, that God Almighty cares, and He is going to help.
•     Turning our eyes and hearts toward Jesus makes the things of this world grow smaller and dimmer.
•     Sometimes our prayers are answered quickly and the problem vanishes, but many times prayer does not remove the trouble—God is teaching us other things.
•     Because we ask God for strength, He will enable us to bear it.
•     He will give us wisdom and insight to solve the problem. 
•     He will give us peace instead of the anxiety that can paralyze us or cause us to make wrong choices.

Troubles can either bring us closer to God or drive us from God.  Troubles can become blessings or curses to us, depending upon how we receive them.  In Psalm 86 we see that God is full of unfailing love for all who ask His aid.  When we take our troubles to God in prayer, we are asking Him to intervene and work on our behalf.  Prayer is an incredible force, and when used rightly, can make us happier and better people.

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E.M. Bounds says this about prayer, “How vast are the possibilities of prayer!  How wide is its reach!  It lays its hand on Almighty God and moves him to do what he would not otherwise do if prayer was not offered.”

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Praying to God is much like a good father dealing with his child.  The good father wants to spend time with his child, likes to listen to him, and wants to help his child.  When his child is obedient, the loving Dad is quick to respond.  He disciplines the wrong, whining attitudes and says no to selfish, bratty requests. The good father handles each request with the best interest of the child always in mind.
 

God Almighty, is our Heavenly Father.  He likes spending time with each of his children.  The Father listening to his child.  The Father responding to the requests of the child he loves.

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E.M. Bounds says,  “Just as God has commanded us to pray always, to pray everywhere, and to pray in everything, so he will answer always.  Everywhere and in everything.  God has plainly and with directness committed himself to answer prayer.  If we fulfill the conditions of prayer, the answer is bound to come."​

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Prayer is an awesome privilege given to each of us.  Consider it for a moment.  Consider the magnitude of prayer.  We, the created, are given the privilege of talking with and asking the Creator for great and mighty things.  God has ordained prayer.  By His own will He chooses to listen to us.  God wants to answer our prayers.