Pray Ugly Prayers

Arise, Lord, in your anger;

rise up against the rage of my enemies.

Awake, my God; decree justice. Psalms 7:6

When I was little, my relationship with God was always unclear. It was like I had this one great friend who swears to protect me and says that he loves me, but I always have to tip-toe around him because if I say or do the wrong thing, he might just leave me alone and scared.

If this sounds like your relationship with God, I am inviting you to dedicate some time to pray until you start to feel God’s entire, peaceful presence.

Yes, God is almighty. But, he is also a father, a provider, a nurturer, and a friend.

Reading the Psalms of David in the Bible (which is most of the Psalms), you will realize that David was not afraid to ask God to punish people on his behalf. He had a lot of respect for God. He spent a lot of time praising, dancing, and writing songs of love and honor to God. However, in times when he was targeted, rejected, or pursued, he placed it all without reservations in front of God.

God can see beyond your facades, but he wants to hear how you express yourself to him and see how comfortable you feel around him. As an earthly parent, you may feel offended if you find out that your kids are not comfortable telling you everything. What makes you think God will be okay with your generic prayers?

Ugly prayers are unfiltered, unedited, fresh-out-of-the-angered-soul prayers. They are crying prayers, wordless prayers, long sighing, and suffocating prayers. God wants to hear them all. He wants to hear about your anger, temptations, annoyance, desires, and oppressions.

David had no issues expressing either of these emotions to God, and God crowned him the man after his heart. God wants to be in the mess with you, to help you piece your puzzle together. Just like when you see a therapist, you have no problem sharing your discomfort because you know the session is confidential.

Well, guess what? Confidentiality with God is 100% guaranteed.

So why should you pray ugly prayers, like David? Simple answer: to be closer to God.

If you want to start digging in the word and really master your Bible, check out this journal with a Bible reading tracker from La Distinction Co.