How to pray when prayer seems a soliloquy of desperation
Prayer at times can be great and mighty praise with songs of joy!! There are seasons in everyone’s life where prayer seems a soliloquy of desperation. During this Christian journey, I have known both. I do not know which season of life you may be in. For any of you who are at this moment in a season of life that feels more than you can bear. Are you living in a moment in which your prayers seem to be cries of desperation into the darkness? Perhaps a diagnosis of cancer, a broken heart, or you have lost your job? A moment in which you don’t know what to do and it feels as though God is silent.
© Lars Justinen/Licensed from GoodSalt.com
[bctt tweet=”How do you pray when prayer seems merely a soliloquy of desperation?”] I have been there at times in this pilgrimage journey and though I cannot pretend to know the burden of your heart today; I can pray for you and with you. In the book of Psalms are many such prayers to guide us; although, sometimes silence is all we can bring into God’s presence. He hears that as well.
1. Be Honest—God knows how you feel and prayer is not the time to try to cover it up and pretend anything. “How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? forever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?” (Psalm 13:1) David often cried out to God in desperation. Even Christ’s prayer in the garden of gethsemane was an agonizing prayer and The Father sent the angels to comfort Him.
2. Read verses from the Psalms- Psalm 141, 142, 143 are a few
3. Ask God to reveal His will and to strengthen you. “Teach me to do thy will: for thou art my God: thy spirit is good: lead me in the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness sake bring my soul out of trouble” Psalm 143:10-11).
4. Remember previous answered prayers if at all possible preach to your own soul as did David—“
5. Silence is ok if you cannot find words to pray. When the pain is too great to pray; it is ok to be silent and sit alone. “For we don’t even know what we should pray for nor how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with such feeling that it cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows, of course, what the Spirit is saying as he pleads for us in harmony with God’s own will” (Romans 8:26-27 TLB).
6. A soliloquy of desperation may be as noted in this unknown poet’s did. C.S Lewis reports having found this in a notebook and never knew who wrote it. He shared it in a letter to Malcolm concerning prayer. In that letter He titled it Soliloquy.
They tell me, Lord, that when I seem
To be in speech with you
Since but one voice is heard,
it’s all a dream,
One talker aping two.
Sometimes it is,
yet not as they Conceive it.
Rather, I Seek in myself
the things I hoped to say
But lo!, my springs are dry.
Then, seeing me empty, you forsake
The listener’s role and through
My dumb lips breathe and into utterance wake
The thoughts I never knew.
And thus you neither need reply
Nor can; thus, while we seem
Two talkers, thou art One forever,
and I No dreamer, but thy dream.
I urge you to continue in this quest of prayer. Even if I cannot pretend to know what you are feeling today; I have walked through deep, dark valleys along this Christian journey. I have prayed prayers that felt like soliloquys of desperation many times in my life and I can tell you there are rivers of joy that will begin as bubbling brooks which will spring forth from the rocks of sorrow as you continue to seek His presence—for [bctt tweet=”God is the Joy, the Love, and the treasure your heart desires.”]
Any prayer requests or words of encouragement that may touch the heart of a reader who is suffering at the moment, you may leave your comments by clicking here.
The artist that drew the picture “A Broken and Contrite Heart” featured on my header and the picture of the bodybuilder is Ronald Barba. Please go to his website ( http://www.barba-art.com) for information regarding obtaining copies or to commission him to create a masterpiece for you. Feel free to email him at Ron@Barba-Art.com to discuss any art projects.
©2015 Effie Darlene Barba
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