My life will be going along fine, no big worries, no overwhelming concerns, and then something will hit, some inexplicable pain, some emotional roadblock, and I feel like storming the heavens. And I do, asking God why, repeating myself, badgering him until I grow weary of it.<\/p>\n
Then I\u2019ll hear someone blithely say, \u201cIt\u2019s too bad we only speak to God when we really need him. He must miss us during those other times.\u201d<\/p>\n
OK, sure. But then I think of my kids, now in their twenties, who go through life swimmingly most of the time, rarely calling out for help or advice or even money. Sending the occasional email or showing a photo on Facebook. If I don\u2019t hear from them for days at a time, that\u2019s OK. But when they\u2019re in any sort of pain, when they\u2019re struggling or lonely or experiencing heartache and reach out, I\u2019m so grateful they come to me. That\u2019s what it means to be a dad.<\/p>\n
Surely our heavenly father must feel the same way, even if we haven\u2019t talked to him in days. Even if we haven\u2019t been on speaking terms at all. Particularly then. (Remember the parable of the Prodigal Son? Remember how thrilled the father was when his wastrel of a boy finally returned?)<\/p>\n
Our pastor recently used a phrase I love: \u201cPrayer is a way to metabolize sorrow.\u201d Sorrow that goes untreated can do dreadful harm. It can turn into anger, depression, resentment, despair. Pray through your sorrows. Talk through them endlessly. Bug God as long as you like. Do it until you think you bore him (not sure that\u2019s possible). Talk to your friends too, but if you\u2019re like me, there\u2019s some stuff you only want to tell God.<\/p>\n
Prayer is a way to metabolize sorrow. Use it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My life will be going along fine, no big worries, no overwhelming concerns, and then something will hit, some inexplicable pain, some emotional roadblock, and I feel like storming the heavens. And I do, asking God why, repeating myself, badgering him until I grow weary of it. Then I\u2019ll hear someone blithely say, \u201cIt\u2019s too […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":30812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[251],"tags":[58,30],"ppma_author":[476],"class_list":["post-24346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-pray","tag-guideposts","tag-prayer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n