Do you know what it means to pray for your life? Some people have experienced, or have witnessed a beloved family member of friend, go through a terrible and debilitating disease and have prayed to Jehovah Rapha (the God who heals) for restoration. Others have experienced emotional pain that has damaged and broken their heart to the point of despair and have cried out to God to restore them back to life.

Jeremiah was a man familiar with this feeling of helplessness and desperation. At one point in his life, Jeremiah was seized by an official and thrown into a cistern deep into the ground and left there to die. You can imagine the fear he must have felt; the complete and utter despondency that must have overcame him. With time slowly passing by and no hope of escape, Jeremiah must felt the same words King David cried, “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.”

We learn that Jeremiah was eventually taken out of the cistern, but not until after a long time that he had spent in there. Fear takes over when we do not know how the story may end for us. At one point, Jeremiah didn’t know either, but eventually his liberation came. As we read the book of Jeremiah, we discover that it is a book about hope and deliverance with ADONAI’S own words saying, “There is hope for your future.” (Jer. 31:17)

When you find yourself among the deep shadows that threaten to overtake you with fear and despair, pray with the anthem of light in your heart and know that God sees and hears you and will deliver you.

God, when the darkness closes in on me and I become afraid, show me where the light is. I need You desperately. Be my Deliverer. Amen. 

“The cistern had been made into a dungeon, and Jeremiah was put in one of its cells; there he remained for a long time.” – Jeremiah 37:16