Praying With Eyes Wide OpenExemplo

Honest to God

Psalm 102

Just before the first verse of Psalm 102, there is a simple and telling superscription: “A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.” Wow, what an introduction! What follows are raw, honest, tear-streaked words.

Do you sometimes feel like “an afflicted person who has grown weak”? I know I do.

Can we be totally honest with God in prayer? Should we be? I believe the answer to both of these questions is a bold “Yes!” For many years I was confused about this topic. I can’t identify exactly where it came from, but I had a sense that it might be disrespectful or dishonoring to tell God everything that was on my heart. Being well aware of my own sinfulness and brokenness caused me to hold back and not pray with unrestrained transparency.

It was my love for the book of Psalms that brought me to a place of breakthrough. As I immersed myself in these biblical prayers, the Holy Spirit gave me insight, clarity, and fresh conviction that honest prayers are not only allowed, but they please God. Throughout the Psalms, I heard other passionate followers of God bring their pain, fear, anger, and struggles into the presence of the Lord of glory. These prayers struck me as raw, vulnerable, fear-filled, shocking at times, and encouraging.

As I began praying the psalms and letting these ancient songs pray for me, honesty began to feel natural. Rather than being irreverent, my truthful prayers felt God-honoring. Instead of creating a sense of guilt, they freed me to pour out my heart and discover new depths of grace.

At its core, prayer is an honest conversation with the God who is absolute truth. When our prayers lack honesty, they lack power. Praying with an open heart means recognizing that God already sees everything. Even what we wish was hidden. This frees us to express ourselves with intentional transparency because we know that God is sovereign and omniscient. He knows everything about us and he still loves us.

Are you hurting today? Be honest about it. Pray your own prayer of lament before God.