Psalms 22:1-3 says, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why are thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou are holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”

Have you ever prayed and felt like God was so far away, equivalent to that of Baal, like he was gone, in the words of Elijah, “on a journey somewhere”? Have you ever experienced a moment in a crisis or struggle where you have poured your heart out and it seems no one is there to comfort? No matter the lifestyle you live, you will have moments where it seems God has forsaken you.

However, the truth is that the Word says, “He will never leave you or forsake you,” but rather “He will go with you always, even unto the end of this world.” It is not that God leaves us, but maybe God is looking for something different.What would you do if you had a friend who never had anything positive to say or think, and he or she was always asking for things, never giving anything in return? I have had to deal with people like that in my lifetime, and, to be frankly honest, it does become annoying. True friendship never uses or takes advantage of anybody, and if we are as Abraham, true friends of God, maybe we should not always take advantage of Him. Instead of always asking God for something, how about we give Him something. It is the reason why Jesus said, “After this manner pray ye, Our Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed be your name.” The way you begin a prayer is not by automatically saying, “God, I need a favor.” Doing that continually is proof of someone taking advantage of God. Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with trusting God. Then again, we cannot equate Him with Santa Claus either, always making a wish list for things and the only thing we offer back is a “junk food Christianity” by showing up to church once every two weeks!

What should we give back to Him? The answer is simple: our praise. When He seems to not be found, just know that God “lives in” your praise. He lives in a praise that “boasts” and “celebrates” His perfect name. God shows up so quickly when you praise Him from your heart. When you open up, pray “hallowed be your name” because His name is sanctified and above every other name. A praise will always draw God’s attention!

We must refuse to be like the nine lepers who did not praise Jesus Christ for their miracle, but we must choose to be the one that came back and did thank Him! You may be in that moment right now where you feel like God has forsaken you in a particular situation, but this is a learning moment for your life, that all you need to do is trust God and praise Him. He will always abide in your praise. It confuses the enemy when he gives you his best shot and God’s praise remains in your mouth! Keep praising, and you will find out that He will quickly show up.