Prayer can be soothing, and it can be so…not.
It’s not always comfortable. We won’t always feel better as we wrap up our prayers. Prayer can be discombobulating. In fact, the deeper we go with God, the more often we might experience disorientation. In reality, it’s an orientation, but the process takes us out of our space. Prayer positions us to change, to listen, to consider.
Prayer is our conversation with God, and he doesn’t exist to affirm us. Of course, he encourages us, but he also corrects and challenges us. When our relationship with him gets uncomfortable as we pray, we need to resist the urge to shut down or walk away. If we listen with humility and share with authenticity, we’ll get to places we didn’t know existed.
In recent prayers, I’ve heard myself say to God,
I don’t like this.
That’s a hard thing to admit.
I’m not sure if what I’m saying makes sense or is accurate.
I want to do it your way…although in some ways, I don’t.
This faith thing is sure not easy at times.
He’s rattled me. He’s humbled me. He’s challenged me.
And I’m okay with that.
The hard stuff is…well, hard. Not everything good is hard, but the two are certainly not mutually exclusive.
Pray with an heart open to discomfort.
Pure Purpose 