Day 48: In times of trouble

So how do we effectively talk to God about the things that trouble us? When troubles assail us, when dark thoughts plague our minds, when we feel as those our heads are going under, when life is a constant struggle - how, when we are in such situations do we pray to God? How to we tell Him all these things? Will He even understand, or will it even help to tell Him?

We must come to God in prayer as we are; we must not put on a happy face, or try to maintain an optimistic outlook. We are not required to be satisfied with life. Rather, God wants us to come to Him as we are; when we are troubled by life's burdens we must come to Him with them. Pour out our hearts before His face, and He is sure to hear. We can feel bad about ourselves, our own spiritual decline and personal problems; we can be troubled by the outward circumstances caused by other people, and we can also express troubled feelings about God. All these feelings, as long as they are not selfish are welcome before God in prayer.

The problem is, however, that we try to hide our genuine attitudes before God in prayer. We tend to conceal our heart's condition before God, rather, than reveal our problems to Him. Remember: God knows our hearts; we can fool other people with smiles and flattery, but God knows when we are troubled. Thus we must be honest and open with Him in prayer. '

But how do you actually put all this into words? How are we actually meant to pray?

We can take a look at the examples of prayers in the psalms.What jumps out at the reader is the vivid images and detailed descriptions of the psalmists condition. The psalmist doesn't say, Lord things are pretty bad down here, but he uses metaphors of bulls and lions to depict his ravaging enemies.

Many bulls have surrounded me, 

strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. 

They gape at me with their mouths, 

like a raging and roaring lion. 

(Ps 22:12-13)

We must not shy away from using this vivid imagery in our prayers. By speaking this way it causes us to pause and think about what we are praying, to examine ourselves and our troubles and to tell God the truth about how we feel. 

Now while we are encouraged to pray about the negative things in our lives, the things that trouble and dishearten us, we must also remember that there are limitations. Firstly we must maintain our fundamental trust in the goodness of God. When we take our complaints to God we must always remember that He is faithful; we cannot by any means question the reality of His love. Secondly, our expression of negative attitudes in prayer must not be motivated by greed or selfishness. Remember the distinction between what you need and what you want. This about the difference and think about whether what you are praying for is a want or need. And thirdly, our negative feelings must be accompanied by an openness to receiving God's response with gratitude. We must be ready to be instructed, corrected, or further enlightened on the matters that are our concern. 

Be ready to hear what God has to say to you. After all, isn't that the reason you pray to Him?