Angry Prayers

Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead with You; yet let me talk with You about Your judgments.

Jeremiah 12:1

There are a lot of books on the subject of prayer, but few contain chapters on “angry prayers.” The greatest book on prayer, however, is the Bible, and it records some angry prayers—when perplexed souls, confused by life, complained to God. The writer of Psalm 44:23-24, for example, writes, “Wake up, O Lord! Why do you sleep? . . . Why do you look the other way?” (NLT).

In Jeremiah 12, the “weeping prophet” complains to the Lord, saying, in effect, “Lord, I know You are righteous, but I don’t understand why You’re allowing these heartbreaks.”

While we mustn’t harbor bitterness toward God—after all, He is righteous, and He does do all things well—it is all right to express our frustrations and questions to Him. Even Jesus cried, “My God, My God, why . . . ?” (Matthew 27:46).

God knows all about us, and He’s concerned about the details of our situations. We should never fear telling Him anything. It’s by expressing our innermost feelings that we come to the point of confessing our sins and understanding His perspective, which heals our minds.

So be honest in prayer, even when you’re angry. Tell Him all about it, and you’ll find His grace is sufficient.

In spiritual work everything depends upon prayer.

ANDREW MURRAY