Is your prayer honest? 🤔

Should our prayers be guarded so as not to offend God, or should we be free to express our true feelings to Him? This is a powerful question because deep within all of us, there is a respect for God and a holy fear of Him. At least that’s what I believe. Do you think I am right about this?

I’ve really struggled with a tendency to be guarded with God. I’ve held back some of my darker emotions and thoughts because I wanted to gain His approval. I think this tendency to hold back came from my relationship with my father. As a child, I felt like I had to perform well in order to please him. 

Paul the Apostle spoke of this: “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13:11, NKJV) I like the part when Paul says, “when I became a man, I put away childish things.” It was childish on my part to think God was like my earthly father. It was foolish to think I had to offer up pious prayers that were not honest.  

friend, God loves you and me unconditionally. We can tell Him everything in prayer because He already knows us and yet still loves us. The Psalms of King David illustrate this perfectly. King David asked God to punish his enemies and to pay them back. He confessed his sins in a public song and expressed his shame in regard to his past failures. David understood the unconditional love of God.

Our prayer life should be a place where we feel completely safe because we know that God doesn’t judge us or condemn us for being honest or for being human. We all need a safe place to express ourselves, and I hope you find this place in prayer.

Never forget that you are a miracle and miracles are real.