Praying Through Pain: Moving From Grief to Praise a 10 - Day Plan by Kathy-Ann C. Hernandez, Ph.d.Chikamu

Day 7

Crying out to God

Have you ever cried until you felt you had no more tears to cry? In the book of 1 Samuel 30, we see David in such a situation. It had already been many years since his anointing by the prophet Samuel, and David still was not king. After killing Goliath, King Saul became jealous of David and tried on several occasions to kill him. As a result, David became a fugitive trying to avoid being killed by King Saul.

During this time, David faced one of the most difficult points in his journey to kingship! David and his men returned to their camp one day to find that the Amalekites had destroyed the camp by fire and taken the women and children. David and his men were so overcome with grief that they “wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep” (1 Samuel 30: 4). It is at this point in verse 6 that we read, “But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”

When I think of David here, I imagine him sitting in the dust with tears running down his cheeks. He is crying out to God, expressing the depths of his pain. This prayer is void of pretense. This may be an occasion where he finds the words that would make their way into one of his lament psalms. This soul cry is sometimes questioning and sometimes in deep despair: “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me” (Psalm 13: 2-3)?

Like David, have you ever come to a point where it felt like you had cried your last tear? I have. Rather than pull away from God in these moments of loss and grief, we are encouraged to pull aside and find our strength and encouragement in Him. The path to healing begins with this sincere bearing of our soul to the one who loves us dearly. We have permission to get real with God. Here, we can dig deep and cry out to a God who has promised that He will be close to the brokenhearted. In this space of full transparency, we will find the encouragement we seek to continue.

Reflect:

The psalmist writes that “the Lord is close to the brokenhearted.” What image comes to mind when you think of God drawing close to you during difficult times?