I remembered the Lord

The following is the verse and devotional for May 24 in Henry Blackaby's devotional, Discovering God's Daily Agenda:
"When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; And my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple." Jonah 2:7

Bittersweet is a word that aptly describes the hard times when we turn to God and find Him to be all that we need. Think about those times when you've had nowhere else to turn but the Lord--and you weren't even sure He was listening or if He even cared. That was a bitter starting point, but the sweetness came in time. Oh, the circumstances may not have changed--the marriage may not have been rehabilitated, the child may not yet be walking with the Lord again, the chemo may not have done what you'd hoped and prayed for--but everything was different because of the sweet presence of your heavenly Father. It's all too easy to forget that we need Him, isn't it? It's generally during the crises more than in the peaceful times that we remember our dependence on God and prayerfully turn to Him. When it feels as if our soul faints within us--as Jonah's did--we remember our all-powerful, ever-faithful God and lift our prayers to Him. Whether your current circumstances are sweet or bitter or somewhere in between, lift up your voice to God today.

After reading the devotional I thought how that word--bittersweet--says it all sometimes. My very first thought was sweet...that God does hear me whenever I call out to Him...whether in a specific time of prayer or in a thought prayer many times during a day. Bitter, though, when my heart's cry is knowing only He is the answer...and that answer may not come in the timing I would choose. Then...again...sweet. How sweet to have that conviction that I can freely lift up my voice to Him and He hears. He knows, He understands my heart's cry...whatever it may be.