Prayer Leads To Confidence
“But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” Psalm 3:3
I sit in prayer and think, “God, I can’t show my true feelings to you. If I revealed to you what was truly on my heart, you would be so disappointed.” My feelings were mixed between anger, sorrow, and sadness. A dear friend had disappointed me once again and our relationship felt hopeless. I did not want to let anyone know how I truly felt about my friend. My heart had been broken for the last time. At least that’s what I was telling myself, that is until she does it again.
So many times we try to hide our feelings from God because the world tells us to hold them in. If we reveal our feelings to the world, we will be seen as weak, burdened, and flat out crazy. As we pray, we either try to hide our true feelings or we ask God to take them away from us.
What if instead of praying to make these feelings go away, we pray through the feelings?
In Psalm 3, David was having to flee from his son, Absalom. Absalom was coming after David to overtake his position as King. The betrayal, heartache, and fear caused by his own son was too much for David to bear.
O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God.’ But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill.” Psalm 3:1-4
In this Psalm and many others, David prays to God straight from his heart. He does not hold back any feelings through his prayers, and he does not pray for God to take his feelings away. Instead, he prays through his feelings. He acknowledges his feelings, is honest through his prayers, and then gives God the glory for being the One who lifts his head during his grief. He recognizes that even though he feels the way he does, God is right there protecting him as his shield and lifting his head from the shame and fear.
I was ashamed of my feelings and thought my feelings made me a bad person. These feelings that cause anxiety and anxiousness are the last feeling I want to feel. But as I read David’s prayers, I remembered that God created us with feelings, and we cannot hide or deny these feelings. If feelings of sadness, grief, fear, happiness, joy, or any other feeling I may be having is from my Creator, why do I feel the need to hide them or extinguish them? God wants me to work through my feelings instead of burying them. It is through our feelings that we grow in our understanding of who God is and what He is doing in our circumstances. Our confidence in Jesus Christ is established as we honestly pray and sit back and watch His power unfold.
Philippians 1:6 tells us that “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” These circumstances that have arisen and have caused emotions in us, will be made perfect through Christ. It may not always be perfected the way we would like them to be, but they will be perfected the way Jesus sees best. God delights in our honesty with Him. Our honesty leads to our healing and there is nothing more that God wants. Welcome the healing as you confidently pray to God with your feelings out in the open.
Digging Deeper:
Read Psalm 3 and Psalm 6. Notice David’s cry for help as he is honest with his feelings. Then notice how he gives all glory to God who delivers him and helps him work through these feelings.
What feelings are you wrestling with right now? How are you trying to hide them from God?
How do you need to be more honest with God in your prayers?