Praying for your sanity
Times are tough
Trust me, I know the struggle of not being able to make ends meet, kids driving you absolutely crazy, or feeling like you are ready to quit your job.
And it is in those times where the absolute last thing I want to do is pray…
…but what if I told you there is a little-known secret about prayer in these moments when you think you are losing your mind?
God is okay with your angry, frustrated, screaming prayers
I mean it!
I actually like to just be in my car, on my way to work or whatever, and just yell at the top of my lungs while praying about how angry I am about something.
And, if I’m being honest, I look like a psychopath when I do it…
…but I feel so much better.
And, more importantly, those prayers tend to break through into something much more genuine than what I catch myself praying otherwise.
“Help me to love people like you do…” sounds like something I should pray, but screaming “God, I am about to lose it on these kids!! I am so tired of…” actually helps me connect the dots between the underlying problem and my own emotions.
Most of the time, once I’ve screamed it out, I realize that it usually isn’t as bad as it seems…and my emotions were just really intense there for a minute.
Screaming your prayers to God, letting out that anger and frustration and despair, can actually be a great way to feel heard and to even bring yourself to a space where you can better listen to the gentle nudging of the Spirit.
My prayer for today
Our Father, thank you for giving me the space to lash out in my anger. Even better, thank you for helping me realize that things aren’t usually as bad as they seem. Spirit, bring me to a place where I can be quiet and better listen to what you have for me. Amen.
Remember
It doesn’t have to be screaming in your car. You can scream into your pillow or in a forest at night. Or you don’t have to scream at all. Sometimes it’s okay to just cry and sob and talk to God about what is going down in your life that has you feeling that way.