Don't Fake It

Published 4/13/20

Read Psalm 13:1-2

"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?"

Reflect

How do you feel about the fact that David is secure enough in his friendship with the Lord to be completely honest with his feelings? Are you able to be this authentic too? Why is it important to pour out everything that's in your heart?

Be honest with God when you pray. In Psalm 13 David feels as if he is in a deep pit and just can't crawl out. He's disillusioned and jaded, and he doesn't hold back telling God how he feels: "Life has gotten pretty lousy. Where has trusting You gotten me anyway?" Okay, so it doesn't exactly say that. But David does pray in spite of how he feels. "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" (Psalm 13:2).

When we feel shortchanged by God, we shouldn't pretend as if we like it. Instead, we need to talk it out. We need to tell Him how we feel: abandoned, misunderstood, or taken advantage of. The Lord can handle whatever it is we feel inside. He won't be put off by what we say. The fact that David's prayer is in the Bible means God wants us to communicate our deepest doubts and raw anger even if we feel He's let us down. (And just in case we've forgotten, the Lord is capable of reading our minds and knows if our pious words are for real.)

Pray

Lord Jesus, I need you now. I'm barely handling this pain. Give me hope and strength. Please restore peace to my life. Amen.

Portions of this study were adapted from Michael Ross, Prayer (Uhrichsville.: Barbour, 2016). Pastor and writer Greg Asimakoupoulos contributed to this devotional entry.