The Tension of Faithful Prayer

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.”

For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.”

Psalm 22:2, 24

 
Today, I’d like to base this devotion on two verses from Psalm 22. In the first verse (22:2), the psalmist laments God’s lack of response to his desperate prayers. Even though he has called out to God day and night, God has not answered. The second verse (22:24) seems almost to contradict the first, affirming God’s attention to those who cry for help in their suffering.

How is it possible for both of these verses to appear in the same psalm? How can the psalmist accuse the Lord of ignoring his prayers, yet, moments later, celebrate God’s faithfulness in response to the cries of the needy?

Such apparently contradictory statements make sense when we realize that our faith in the living God is not some neat, tidy relationship that we can carefully manage. Every person who has walked with God for a while has experienced seasons of despair and seasons of exultation. Sometimes these seasons overlap, even in a single prayer. In agony, we cry out for God’s help. Then we remember his goodness. Then our desperation returns as we wonder why God seems so distant. Then we are encouraged by the promise of his presence. And so it goes when we live in the tension of faithful prayer.

Psalm 22 invites us into a tumultuous, passionate, growing, intimate relationship with God. It gives us permission to cry out in anguish without holding back and to rejoice in the memory of God’s faithfulness — and, sometimes, to do both more or less at once.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

Can you relate to the diverse expressions of prayer in Psalm 22?

Do you ever worry that your prayers are too untidy?

What helps you to pray with abandon?

PRAYER:

Gracious God, thank you for the glorious untidiness of Psalm 22. In the psalmist’s wide-ranging dialogue with you, I see my own mix of certainty and uncertainty, faith and doubt. How grateful I am for the freedom this psalm gives as I come before you in prayer.

Help me, dear Lord, to bring my true self before you without feeling as if I have to clean myself up to impress you. Give me confidence to live in the messiness of a genuine relationship with you.

And when it seems as if you are not even hearing my prayers, remind me of your faithfulness in the past. Help me to persevere in prayer even when my faith falters. By your grace, may I trust you more and more each day.

Amen.

An earlier version of this devotion appeared at The High Calling. It is used with permission under a Creative Commons license.