Some years ago, a colleague in ministry was visiting the Church of our Lady in Copenhagen, Denmark.

As he was admiring the famous statues in the church, one in particular grabbed his attention. It was a statue of Jesus, and His eyes seemed to be closed. This led my colleague to think he was seeing a statue of Jesus in prayer.

Just then, a man standing beside him said, “You have to get down to see it.” My ministry colleague got down on his knees and looked up. When he did, he was looking into the eyes of Christ — eyes full of so much mercy, love and compassion.

Sometimes we have to get down on our knees to see His eyes, too. The difficult and painful situations in our lives drive us to our knees, and drive us to look up.

When we do, we see a God who is full of mercy, full of compassion, and full of power to meet our needs. In fact, He is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).

God made us to be in a relationship with Him. We were not designed to do life alone, but to do it with Him. An essential part of that relationship is learning to depend upon God through prayer.

In the words of 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you.” This means that instead of taking our heavy burdens upon ourselves, we must learn to give them to God, who is more than capable of bearing them.

He has already borne our sins on the cross, and He now promises to meet our every need. So come to Him in prayer.

Jesus says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

Your Father’s generous heart is open wide. Just come to Him. Don’t worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Dear reader, I don’t know your situation today, but I do know life. And I am sure that yours is filled with challenges. Perhaps you are carrying a heavy load right now.

Why not do the very thing God invites you to do, the very thing He longs for you to do, and pass that burden on to Him? He is full of mercy and compassion to deal with it. More than that, He has the power to deal with it.

He is willing. He is able. He loves you. Take it to the Lord in prayer, and trust him with it.

Dr. Thurman R. Hayes is senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Suffolk. Follow him on Twitter at @ThurmanHayesJr.