Distressed by the weight of his afflictions and frequent disappointments, brother Jethro, a devout follower of ‘The Way’, stripped naked before the bishop of his soul in a heart-rending confession that would later bathe his mind in the streams of his mercy.

In a cry of anguish, he opens up the burdens that were hitherto locked up in his heart alone. He spoke out perhaps to dismiss the anxiety that has mounted severe pressure on his mind and emotions. He said in a naked prayer, “…it looks like I am beginning to give in to pressure; and am being squeezed in every way by the reason of my challenges.”

He continued, …”It seems to me that the promises I have anchored on is making no sense again! I’ve got more questions than answers, and depression is weighing me down. I don’t feel like praying but I want to pray. And even if I struggle to pray, will the answers come? And if it doesn’t meet my expectations, how long shall my answers be outstanding? God, please talk to me!, he alarmed!

Like brother Jethro, everyone of us desperately need to have someone who is trust worthy and is able to share our pains and help us. Yes, someone who is able to understand the deep issues that is etched on the table of our heart! Someone to whom we feel vulnerable and we are not ashamed to bare our minds on issues that troubles us.

The truth is, no matter how intimate, and amiable a friend is, he or she cannot be as dependable and sacrificial like the one who fashioned our being, and sustains our life. His love and compassion is like no other.

A devout and wise King made an experiential statement that amazes me always, and I consider it very true. He said, ” If I say the darkness will cover me, and the night will be the only light around me, Even the darkness is not dark to You and conceals nothing from You. For you form my innermost parts…” (Psalm 139)

Having felt the pains of disappointments even from loved ones, and having suffered heartbreaks from those who seemed to care, I cannot but advise that there’s no need to brood over past failures and be locked up in the feelings of distrust and isolation.

Likewise, there’s no need hide from the obvious, covering yourself with darkness and obscurity before the one who formed you in your mother’s womb, and to whom your life is bare. Just like I said in my article WHO WORRY HELP?,  learn to give your fears to God and turn your worries into prayers.

In the words of T.D Jakes, “There’s no need for sanctimonious misrepresentation of who we are! We no longer need to live under the strain of continual camouflage. Neither flagrant or flamboyant, we are naked before Him in the same sense that a man sprawl’s naked on the operating table before a surgeon…whether the doctor finds good or evil, what is there is there, and the man’s comfort lies on the conviction that the surgeon possesses the wherewithal to restore order to any area that may be in disarray.”

If we would feel neither embarrassed or boastful when we are stacked naked before a surgeon who would attempt to restore us to health, how come we easily think and act like we can hide in obscurity to the extent that we shut God out of our life issues, and continue to struggle with ourselves? I think when an equipment is faulty, the best help we can get is from the manufacturer and not a copycat.

The truth is, there is a certain tightness needed to cause faith to be secreted. Your situation might be a tool in God’s hand to provoke a miracle that would endear you to His loving disposition. Therefore, don’t hide from him, rather strip yourself naked before Him in humility and devotion, like brother Jethro.

Discard what you don’t need so you can activate what you need. Get rid of your deceit, self-righteousness, self-pity, and aggrandizement. Slip the spirit of heaviness off your shoulders and let the cool waters of God’s promises rinse the residue of your hurtful pasts. Strip yourself to nothing but prayers, let your request be lifted to God in passionate supplication and unwavering faith.

God knows who you are more than the knowledge you have of yourself. He cares far more than you think or imagine. An adage in my local tongue says, “A dead man does not hide from those who would dress him.” Therefore, the only way you can dress up for God, like brother Jethro, is to lie before Him as a naked offering at the alter of naked prayer!

Brother Jethro realized that God cannot cleanse what he did not expose, therefore, he bared his heart in naked prayers. He now stands in the rains of his grace to declare thus, “I know that God is faithful. I also do know that His plans for those who trust Him are good and not evil, to give them an expected end. This is a promise of God that will never change!”

My friend, there’s no need to try and hide behind a finger, it’s useless to continue to dwell in the past and bottle up anger against God. Speak up and dismiss it! Strip naked before the giver and sustainer of your life. He has a plan -He’s going to turn the mess into a miracle. You are winning! Yes, we are winning!

GreatMark