Recorded in numerous places in both the Hebrew section and Christian section of the library we call the Holy Bible are accounts of people who in raw emotion poured out their hearts to God. We read of deep pain, anger, and an anguish of soul expressed to the Almighty with the desperation of nowhere else to turn. Prompted by the death of a loved one, or starvation, or defeat in battle, or persecution and injustice, we see it demonstrated in passages like the appeal of the Psalmist who said:
Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I . . .
Psalm 61:1-2
Even Jesus, in Gethsemane, prayed with such deep anguish and sweating intensity that it looked like blood dripping from his brow.
Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me . . .
Matthew 26:39
Our religious etiquette lessons have instilled within many the notion that prayer must be formal and offered with learned phrasing. There is a place and time for such. However, a careful study of the multiple occasions when people are just “spilling their guts out” to God will reveal how responsive God is to such outcries. It is reassuring to realize that in the most difficult places of life the Lord is at hand, entering into our feelings, and responding with what is best in the moment.
A broken and contrite heart he will not despise.
Psalm 51:17
Nothing will usher us into the presence of God quicker than when, with real feelings and transparency, we weep it, shout it or however we need to wholeheartedly give expression to what is troubling us. So, go ahead and get it out. God is a big, loving, compassionate and kind God who gets us and can take it.
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