Those were my husband's words to me early this morning. He had just seen the one I wrote and the recipient's reply. They both had to do with a frustrating situation we are dealing with.
My response to my hubby was, "I was very nice."
As soon as I said that, I thought about this blog post and my prayer emphasis and how we don't have to be very nice when we pray.
The email Lou complimented was nice, but it was completely different than the one I really wanted to write. That one needed filtering before it reached the intended recipient.
Thankfully, our prayers don't need filtering. They don't need to be "nice." God knows exactly how we feel and think and invites us in Psalm 18 to cry out to him.
In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
And in Job 7:11...
“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
In my journals, I've found a few of those unfiltered prayers. Most are too personal to share here. But I am sharing one (after blacking out some irrelevant words and a child's name) because I know I cannot be the only mom who has had these thoughts and cried out to God for help. Maybe you need to hear that you are not alone.
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| November 12, 2002 |
I'm hurting with the kids right now. It seems they are not thoughtful to each other. I rebel against this sibling rivalry. I also feel they are not as respectful toward me as they should be. Do I drive them to it? Am I a nag? I feel like if I'd done everything like I was supposed to, then they wouldn't rebel. ______ sometimes looks at me like I'm from outer space. Please Lord, draw the hearts of my children to each other and to Lou & me.
Maybe you also need to hear that God will help you through these kinds of hard. He is a great big God who loves His children. So don't hesitate to pray.
Pray unfiltered.
Pray real.
He likes those kind of prayers.
And, He will help.
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