Praying Through Sorrow

O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever?

How long will you look the other way?

How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,

with sorrow in my heart every day?

How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

Turn and answer me, O LORD my God!

Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. . . .

But I trust in your unfailing love.

I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

I will sing to the LORD

because he is good to me.

Psalm 13:1-6

Does it ever seem to you as if God has forgotten you? Have you prayed and prayed and seemingly received no response? David, despite his intimate relationship with God, felt that way more than once. But he didn’t wallow in self-pity and hopelessness. He took those feelings of abandonment directly to God. He was honest before the Lord. He expressed his impatience: “How long must I struggle?” As he bared his soul to God, a change began to take place in him. He remembered God’s faithfulness to him in the past. His cries of distress turned into songs of praise.

When you enter God’s presence with all your complaints, you will undergo a similar change. Rather than feeling forgotten, you will understand the extent of God’s faithfulness to and love for you.

• Dear Lord, how long must I struggle with anguish in my soul? But I will trust in your unfailing love . . .