When God knows us better than we know ourselves, why do we hide our emotions from him?
I had to chuckle recently, when I heard of this prayer from one of the new students at our school:
“Dear God, please let me kick my teacher in the bottom and steal her dinosaurs.”
Whilst it’s not a common prayer we hear, there is a rawness and realness to it that is humbling. Our first impression might be to correct it and to ensure that God receives the awe and reverence that He rightly deserves and yes there is merit in that. However, Jesus also tells us in Matthew 19:14 to “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
There is a place in prayer for both: authenticity and reverence. The Bible is littered with bold, audacious prayers from people like David and Job, who ask God where He is when they can’t feel His presence, or see the way forward. As God’s children, created in His Image, Jesus encourages us to bring an innocence to our relationship with Him. Jesus’ words remind us that we are loved and that He wants to hear exactly what we’re going through.
Psalm 139 tells us that God’s thoughts concerning us outnumber the grains of sand. The grains of sand! Across the entire globe! That’s how much he loves you!
So while we temper our prayers with appropriate reverence, let’s let them also reflect our emotions. Share our highlights with Him, and our frustrations, because He knows and sees it all anyway, so why hide? And when we don’t know the words to say…
“The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27.
The beautiful part of this student’s story is that a week later, they prayed sincerely for healing for a friend’s family member. What a beautiful thing to witness – this child’s growth in understanding, faith, and compassion.
