Is It Wrong to Tell God How You Really Feel?

Sometimes Christians feel as though they have to clean up their emotions before they talk to God. We think prayer should always sound calm, faithful, and spiritually mature. So when we are angry, confused, disappointed, afraid, or deeply hurt, we may try to hide those feelings or dress them up in religious language.

But God already knows what is in us.

Hebrews 4:13 says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we must answer.” Hebrews 4:13. If God already sees the heart completely, there is little point in pretending with Him.

Job is a good example of this. After losing his children, his possessions, and his health, he did not speak as though everything was fine. He was crushed. In Job 3:11 he asked, “Why did I not die at birth, come out of the womb and expire?” Job 3:11. Those are not the words of a man trying to sound strong. They are the words of a man in deep pain.

Job said some things in his grief that later needed correction, but God did not reject him simply because he spoke honestly. Job brought his pain into the open before God. He questioned. He struggled. He grieved. Yet he continued directing his words toward God rather than simply turning away from Him.

That distinction matters.

There is a difference between honestly telling God how we feel and accusing God of wrongdoing. There is a difference between saying, “Lord, I do not understand this,” and deciding that God cannot be trusted. Scripture gives us many examples of faithful people expressing sorrow, fear, confusion, and even deep anguish before God.

The Psalms are filled with that kind of honesty. David repeatedly asked God how long his troubles would continue. He spoke about fear, enemies, loneliness, and discouragement. Yet again and again, those prayers moved toward trust. Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us.” Psalm 62:8.

That is a powerful picture of prayer. God does not tell us to hide what is in our hearts. He tells us to pour it out before Him.

God is not threatened by our questions. He does not need us to pretend we are stronger than we are. He wants truth in the inner person, and that includes being honest about what is happening in our hearts.

Sometimes prayer may sound like praise. Sometimes it may sound like thanksgiving. Sometimes it may be a quiet request for help. And sometimes it may simply be, “Lord, I am hurting and I do not understand.”

The important thing is that we keep coming to Him.

Peter gives us another reason we can do that: “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7. We are not bringing our burdens to a distant God who has no concern for us. We bring them to One who cares.

Honesty with God should not become an excuse for bitterness or unbelief. Our feelings are real, but they are not always reliable guides to truth. We may feel abandoned when God has not abandoned us. We may feel forgotten when He has not forgotten us. We may feel that nothing good can come from our circumstances when God sees far more than we do.

That is why honest prayer must eventually come back to what God has said.

We can tell Him we are afraid and still remember that He is faithful. We can admit that we are confused and still trust His wisdom. We can tell Him that something hurts terribly and still believe that He is good.

God already knows how you really feel.

You might as well talk to Him about it.

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“What I write is not for everyone, but what I write is meant for someone.” – Dean Butler

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