How far do you push yourself, or procrastinate, before you seek someone's help? It doesn't matter how independent we are, we all face problems that require another person's or God's assistance.
The sooner we ask for and accept help, the sooner we can reach a solution. Independence doesn't have to mean isolation. And it's useful to remember this whenever we find ourselves reluctant to ask someone to come to our aid, especially if it's because we associate it with weakness.
Asking for someone's help can be an act to gain greater strength. It has the power to make us stronger in our relationship with God. He wants to assist us and is always ready to do so. Our faith in Him is built upon us needing Him and Him responding to those needs. We need look no further than the sacrifice Jesus made for us to find evidence of this, although there are plenty of examples of sacrifice in the Bible that we can choose from.
The act of asking God to intervene in our lives, to reach out and touch Jesus' cloak is the equivalent of saying loudly: "I have faith in you to hear me, help me and heal me."
If you have reservations about doing this because you don't think He can hear you, you think your problem is impossible to solve or undeserving of God's attention, then these three tips can help you.
1. Remind yourself of His promises and personality
The Bible is full of examples of God helping His people, of Jesus healing those who had faith in Him. This help is still available to us today.
Spend some time studying God's word, particularly those passages where He intervened in the lives of those who requested Him to. Allow yourself to be inspired by these accounts, and those of the people who had courage and trust to come to Jesus and seek His help and healing.
2. Get physical
Sometimes we don't know what words to say to get the help we need. The sick woman we read about in Matthew 9, just physically reached out to Jesus to heal her.
If words aren't your strong point or you can't immediately voice your plea, try stretching out your hands in prayer while you think about the pain or problem you need God to help you with. If you're comfortable enough to share your problem with a friend or accept their offer of support, why not join hands with them as they pray for you.
3. Cast your mind on God's strength and saving grace
Our reluctance to seek help can be due to a fear of facing up to the issue itself. When we ask for someone to lend a hand it means we have to admit that there is something that we can't fix on our own and confront all the baggage that comes along with it.
Instead of dwelling on the problem alone, take a leaf out of the sick woman's book in Matthew 9 and cast your mind on the Lord's power to redeem and resolve. He is greater than our greatest problems, so we should waste no time in bringing them to Him.
