The Connection Corner

A daily source of encouragement and inspiration to connect your heart to hope and faith.

Praying Scary Prayers

Daily Devotional, Denise Pagano

Psalm 34:6 — In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles.

Some of the hardest prayers I’ve ever prayed have been for my son.

And honestly, they haven’t been very long or eloquent.

Sometimes, they’ve been just five words.

“God, do whatever it takes.”

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately on the prayer wall at 887thecross.com.

Not just reading other people’s requests and praying for them, but bringing my own heartache before God.

Because right now, I’m praying hard for my son, Anthony, and his wife, Christy.

They’ve pretty much shut us out of their lives.

And I won’t pretend that doesn’t hurt.

If you’re a mom or dad, you know there are a lot of things you spend your life trying to fix.

A scraped knee? You grab a Band-Aid.

A broken heart? You sit down and listen.

A difficult day? Sometimes a phone call, a conversation, or a really good hug can make things a little better.

But then there are the things you can’t fix.

The phone calls that go unanswered.

The conversations you wish you could have.

The distance between you and someone you love that you have absolutely no idea how to close.

And that’s where I am.

I can’t fix this.

I can’t make someone pick up the phone.

I can’t force a relationship to heal.

And I certainly can’t change someone’s heart.

So I’ve found myself praying a prayer that, if I’m being honest, scares me a little.

“God, do whatever it takes. Bring him back to You first. And then, Lord, if it’s Your will, bring him back to us.”

Now, I don’t pray that because I want something bad to happen.

Quite the opposite.

I pray it because I love my son, and I want God’s very best for his life.

But praying those words means admitting something I don’t particularly enjoy admitting.

I’m not in control.

And when it’s someone you love with your whole heart, that’s a hard thing to accept.

Maybe you understand.

Maybe there’s a name you carry around in your heart, too.

A son. A daughter. A spouse. A parent. A friend.

Someone who’s walked away.

Someone you can’t seem to reach anymore.

Someone you’ve cried over, worried about, and prayed for more times than you can count.

And you’ve finally run out of things to say.

That’s why I love Psalm 34:6.

David writes, “In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened.”

Did you catch that?

In my desperation.

Not when I had everything figured out.

Not when I finally found the perfect words.

Not when I knew exactly how things were going to turn out.

In my desperation.

David cried out to God, and God heard him.

And while I don’t know how my story with Anthony and Christy will unfold, I do know that the same God who heard David hears me.

Even when my prayers come through tears.

Even when all I can manage is a name.

Even when I don’t know what else to ask.

God doesn’t need me to have the answers before I come to Him.

He just invites me to come.

And here’s something I’m learning.

Giving someone to God doesn’t mean you stop loving them.

It doesn’t mean you stop hoping.

And it certainly doesn’t mean you stop praying.

It means you recognize that God’s hands are far more capable than yours.

It means you can keep loving someone, even when you can’t change the situation.

And it means trusting God with a story whose ending you cannot see.

Right now, that’s what I’m trying to do.

I pray for Anthony.

I pray for Christy.

I ask God to draw them close to Him, to protect them, to guide them, and to do the work in their hearts that only He can do.

And then I try, with everything in me, to leave them in His hands.

Some days, I do better at that than others.

Some days, I give them to God in the morning and find myself picking that worry right back up before lunchtime.

Maybe you know what that’s like, too.

But I’m learning that surrender isn’t always one big moment.

Sometimes it’s a prayer you have to pray again tomorrow.

And the next day.

And the next.

So, friend, if there’s someone you’re carrying today, can I encourage you?

You don’t have to know what God is going to do to trust Him with what you can’t control.

You don’t have to stop loving them.

You don’t have to stop praying for them.

But you can stop believing that everything depends on you.

Say their name.

Tell God how much you love them.

Tell Him how much it hurts.

Ask Him to work in ways you cannot.

And then, as best you can, place them in His hands.

Because the hardest part of prayer isn’t always asking God to do something.

Sometimes, it’s trusting Him enough to let go of what you were never able to control.

And if you find yourself reaching for that worry again tomorrow?

Pray again.

He’s still listening.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Is there someone you love whose choices or circumstances have left you feeling helpless? Have you been trying to carry responsibility for something you cannot control?
What makes it difficult for you to surrender someone you love into God’s hands?
Have you ever felt that your prayers weren’t enough because you couldn’t find the right words? How does Psalm 34:6 encourage you?
What’s the difference between giving up on someone and entrusting them to God?
Is there a name you need to bring before God today—not with a plan for how everything should turn out, but with a willingness to trust Him?

QUESTION TO CARRY WITH YOU TODAY

Whose name am I holding so tightly that I need to place them back into God’s hands?

October 14, 2026/by Denise Pagano

Don’t Let Fear Send You Searching

Bri Dunn, Daily Devotional

Psalm 62:8 — O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.

I’ve heard someone say that parenthood is the scariest hood you’ll ever live in.

And I’m starting to understand why.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love being a mom to my little boy, Lennox.

We fought hard to get here. He’s such a gift, and I wouldn’t trade being his mama for anything in the world.

But lately, we’ve been walking through something that’s been really hard.

Lennox had been talking so well, and then he stopped speaking like he had before.

We’ve been seeing specialists to understand what’s happening, and I’ll be honest with you.

I’ve been scared.

And you know what happens when a mama gets scared?

She starts looking for answers.

Everywhere.

I researched everything I could think of. I called friends and asked, “Did your child do this at his age?”

I searched the internet.

I even went to TikTok.

I mean, if there was somewhere I thought I might find an answer, I was looking.

Because when it’s your baby, you just want someone to tell you everything is going to be okay.

And then, the other day, something happened.

I was standing at the kitchen sink, washing dishes, when Lennox came into the room.

He didn’t say anything.

He just came over and sat down beside me.

That’s it.

No big moment. No dramatic breakthrough.

Just my little boy sitting near his mama.

And even though he wasn’t speaking, I understood something.

He wanted to be close to me.

He didn’t need to explain himself.

He didn’t need to find the right words.

He just knew where he wanted to be.

And standing there at that sink, I felt like God was reminding me of something I desperately needed to hear.

Sometimes, when we’re afraid, we spend so much time searching for answers that we forget where to bring our hearts.

Now, please hear me.

I’m not going to stop looking for answers for my son.

We’re going to keep seeing the specialists. We’re going to keep asking questions and doing everything we can to help him.

Because that’s part of loving him well.

But somewhere in the middle of all that searching, I had allowed fear to consume so much of my heart.

And I needed to remember that I have a Father I can run to, too.

Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.”

I love those words.

Pour out your heart.

Not just the pretty parts.

Not just the prayers that sound faithful and confident.

All of it.

The questions.

The exhaustion.

The things that keep you awake at night.

Even the fears you’re almost afraid to say out loud.

God invites us to bring every bit of it to Him.

And just like Lennox didn’t need words to sit beside me, I don’t have to have the right words to come into my Heavenly Father’s presence.

I can just come close.

I can cry.

I can sit quietly.

I can tell Him I’m scared.

And I can trust that He knows my heart, even when I don’t know how to explain what’s happening inside it.

Maybe that’s something you need to hear today, too.

Maybe you’re facing something with your child, your marriage, your health, or your future.

Maybe you’ve been searching for answers, and the more you search, the more overwhelmed you feel.

Friend, it’s okay to ask questions.

It’s okay to seek help.

It’s okay not to know what comes next.

But don’t forget that you have a Father who welcomes you into His presence in the middle of it all.

You don’t have to wait until you’re feeling brave.

You don’t have to figure everything out first.

And you certainly don’t have to pretend you’re okay when you’re not.

Just come close.

Because sometimes the greatest comfort isn’t getting an answer to every question.

It’s knowing that while you’re waiting for answers, you have somewhere safe to bring your heart.

So today, I’m going to keep loving my little boy.

I’m going to keep doing everything I can for him.

And I’m going to keep trusting the Father who loves us both.

And maybe the next time I’m standing at that kitchen sink, overwhelmed by all the things I don’t know, I’ll remember what Lennox taught me.

Sometimes, you don’t need to say a single word.

You just need to come close to your Father.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

When you’re afraid or uncertain, where do you usually turn first for reassurance?
Is there something you’ve been carrying that you haven’t fully poured out to God because you don’t know how to put it into words?
How does it change your understanding of prayer to know that you can simply come into God’s presence without having everything figured out?
Have you ever become so focused on finding answers that you forgot to seek comfort and refuge in God?
What would it look like today to both take the practical steps you need to take and trust God with the things you cannot control?

QUESTION TO CARRY WITH YOU TODAY

Am I spending so much time searching for answers that I’ve forgotten to simply sit with my Father?

October 13, 2026/by Bri Dunn

Fear’s Not Getting Candy

Daily Devotional, Tammi Arender

Matthew 14:27 — But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!

There’s something about a knock at the door this time of year, isn’t there?

The porch light comes on. Little footsteps make their way up the sidewalk. And when you open the door, there’s a tiny superhero, a princess, or maybe a dinosaur standing there with a bucket in hand, hoping you’ll drop in a little candy.

I mean, how sweet is that?

But you know what else comes knocking?

Fear.

And unfortunately, fear doesn’t limit its visits to October.

Sometimes it shows up as a phone call from the doctor’s office.

Sometimes it looks like bills piling up on the kitchen counter.

Sometimes it comes when your child is hurting, when a relationship falls apart, or when life takes a turn you never saw coming.

And unlike those little trick-or-treaters, fear doesn’t just want a piece of candy.

Fear wants to come inside, make itself comfortable, and convince you it’s there to stay.

And if we’re not careful, we can start living as though it belongs there.

I think sometimes, as Christians, we believe that if we have enough faith, we won’t be afraid.

But that’s just not true.

Fear is an emotion. And we’re human.

We all experience it.

The goal isn’t to pretend we’re never scared.

It’s learning that we can feel afraid without allowing fear to control how we live.

Fear may knock on your door, but it doesn’t have to move into your house.

I think about the disciples in Matthew 14.

They’re out on the water in the middle of the night. The wind is against them. The waves are tossing their boat around.

And then they see someone walking toward them on the water.

They’re terrified!

They think they’re seeing a ghost.

But listen to what Jesus says.

“Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here!”

I love that.

Jesus didn’t wait until they felt brave enough to recognize Him.

He didn’t tell them they were silly for being scared.

He spoke to them right in the middle of their fear.

And He reminded them of the one thing that mattered most.

I am here.

The wind was still blowing.

The waves were still moving.

But Jesus was there.

And sometimes, friend, that’s exactly what we need to remember.

God’s presence doesn’t mean we’ll never face something frightening.

It means we don’t have to face it alone.

Maybe there’s something knocking at the door of your heart today.

Something that’s been stealing your peace, keeping you awake at night, or making you afraid of what tomorrow might bring.

You don’t have to pretend it isn’t there.

You can acknowledge it. You can pray about it. You can ask for help.

But you don’t have to hand fear the keys to your life.

Because courage isn’t the absence of fear.

Courage is remembering Who is with you when fear shows up.

So the next time fear comes knocking, remember what Jesus said to those frightened disciples.

“Take courage. I am here!”

And maybe instead of letting fear settle in, you can remind yourself of something far more powerful.

The One who walks on water is walking with you.

Fear may come knocking. But Jesus is already home.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

What fear has been knocking at the door of your life lately? Have you allowed it to take up more space than it deserves?
Have you ever felt guilty for being afraid becasue you thought having fun meant you shouldn’t experience fear?
How does it change your perspective to remember that Jesus spoke to the disciples while the wind and waves were still around them?
What practical step could you take today to keep fear from controlling your decisions?
Is there someone in your life who is facing something frightening and needs to be reminded that they are not alone?