Good Grumbles: From Shattering Soliloquys to Passionate Prayer

 

Good Grumbles: From Shattering Soliloquys to Passionate Prayer.

If you've been to an Aussie pub or have Aussie mates you've probably heard the saying, "She'll be right mate," a quick way to divert a discussion from the delicacy of dealing with another's negative emotions. Hell I've probably used it myself a number of times as a sure-fire way of shutting down a soliloquy before it turns into good ole' hour-long beer-slurping ear-yanking.

But when it comes to our grumbles, God isn't quite so dismissive. Reading the Psalms—the prayers and songs of the people of God—you''ll see the writer pouring his heart out to God again and again, leaving nothing unsaid: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Psalmist, it would seem, was not impartial to a good grumble, and God, it would seem, was not impartial in responding; whether it be a miracle for the need, or peace in the midst of it.

When we turn our problems into prayers, grumbling then, can be good!  

I'd go as far as to say that, despite our cultural aversion to it, a good grumble to God is crucial in our spiritual growth. Certainly better than an hour-long ear-shattering soliloquy to a weary listener. By turning our problems into prayers, we open up our darkness to God's light, our depression to His life, and our desires to his love.

Don't write this off as a trite solution however, because in practice it is no easy thing. I believe that my prayers are often simply too shallow, are yours? We need to cry out to God, with heart-bearing, door-opening, soul-purging prayers. We need to get real with God. We need to present ourselves to Him as who we are, not who we think we should be.

Be encouraged though, unlike a human listener, you're not going to offend God, bore Him, puzzle Him or surprise Him – he knows it all and has heard it all before. There is nothing new under the sun. Yet he the Bible says to 'cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you.' (1 Peter 5:7)

Our God after all is not some distant deity, or an imaginary friend in the sky (cue the keyboard warriors), but is our loving Father who cares, provides, and lavishes his love and grace upon us. He wants to provide for you.

In fact, when we turn our problems into prayers, they become a platform for God's provision.

When the people of God grumbled in the desert about having nothing to eat, the Lord said simply, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you." (Ex 16:4)

The ultimate bread from heaven of course was Christ, who said simply, "I am the bread of life…whoever eats this bread will live forever." (John 6) and for the thirsty he said, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (John 7:37-39).

Through the Holy Spirit then, God's ultimate provision is his presence.

God has made a way though Christ and the Spirit to meet your deepest desires and longs to lavish it upon you, if only you'd ask. He does not leave us or ignore us but instead fills us with his Spirit to equip, empower and enrich us.To shape us into a people who prize his presence above all else.

For God's presence prepares us for the promise.

The promise that one day we will walk with again face to face, when God finally sets the world right and his presence is all-in-all.

So I pray you will open your heart up to God today, pray a soul-bearing prayer and get real with Him about where you're at in life; and that He will meet where you're at, and will raise you up, as He draws you closer to Himself. Amen.