God Wants to Hear From Us

Have you ever felt like you can’t pray because you just aren’t good enough?
Sometimes we get the idea that we need to perfect ourselves before praying. That we can’t bring all of our stuff just as it is to God in all of our messy imperfection. 

I was doing my bible reading recently. I am doing the Bible Recap with Tara-Leigh Cobble, which I highly recommend. In Tara-Leigh’s summary of the day’s reading, she says

“God invites us into conversation even when our prayers are unpolished, and our thoughts are in disarray.”

This thought resonated with me deeply. It was in relation to Psalm 120, which is a Psalm of lament.

Psalm 120

¹ I call on the Lord in my distress,
    and he answers me.
² Save me, Lord,
    from lying lips
    and from deceitful tongues.

³ What will he do to you,
    and what more besides,
    you deceitful tongue?
⁴ He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,
    with burning coals of the broom bush.

⁵ Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek,
    that I live among the tents of Kedar!
⁶ Too long have I lived
    among those who hate peace.
⁷ I am for peace;
    but when I speak, they are for war.

Psalm 120 (NIV)

David, who wrote the Psalm, is on the run in the wilderness, the King is trying to kill him, and he is scared for his life. The Psalm is really short, and it reads as though David just blurted out his anguish at his situation. Many of the Psalms are laments, but they end with praise. However, this one doesn’t; it’s just David’s thoughts, fears and frustrations.

I was reflecting on times in my life when I have felt the need to censor myself before God. For me, this comes from two things: a need for control and wanting to have it all together. Sometimes, it feels like if I admit in prayer how much I am struggling, then I am also confirming that nagging feeling deep inside that I am not as in control as I would like to think I am. God actually knows I don’t have it all together – He made me. He invites us, in Matthew 11:28-30, to walk with him and learn from him, and to share our burdens with him, because he gives us rest.

Sometimes I almost feel like I don’t want to bother God with my problems. I say a polite prayer and go on my way, closing the door on deep pain that he invites me to share with Him in a real relationship. The Psalms are an example of what it looks like to share your heart with God: the fear, the pain, and the joy. In fact, when you don’t have the words to know what to pray for, praying through the Psalms is a great place to start.

We don’t need to wait for the perfect time or for our lives to be perfect. We don’t need to wait until we are good enough, either. The death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross gave us a direct path to a relationship with God. We can come to Him and share it all, unfiltered, messy, and just as we are. 

Lorrene McClymont is a writer for Moments to Rest