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I was thinking today about what I wrote in my last post about negativity and this idea of negative praying came to my mind. I jotted down the thought some time ago that when we pray our fears we may be worshiping them by reinforcing them instead of God's words about us. But many of the Psalms are quite negative and sometimes even violently so. Was David wrong in penning all this negativity? Or is there something more I need to look at here?
As I thought more about it I realized the importance of praying from the heart and how that often may need to start by learning to be transparently honest about what we are feeling. That very often means telling God how bad we feel or how angry we are or how unfair our situation seems right now. This is very much like many of David's psalms and is our way of getting into our heart instead of just our head initially.
The problem comes, I believe, when we get in the habit of staying there in our negative thoughts and not moving past that to get into God's perspective. While it is very important for us to go into our heart for more effective praying, it is equally important to pay attention to the messages we are giving our heart while still in that “state of mind”. When we fail to move on into the arena of faith and accept the offer of the Spirit to see things from God's perspective, we may then find ourselves reinforcing our negative thought patterns and then planting seeds of darkness that will take root and bear like fruit again. Instead, after expressing our perspective and going into our heart by honest expressions of our emotions, we should then listen and also express God's thoughts and feelings about the situation. When we do that we may find ourselves, like David, more often ending up our prayers as praise sessions and celebrations of God's goodness, faithfulness and lovingkindness instead of limping "help me" prayers.
Maybe that is one reason why reading the Psalms is so effective for overcoming depression and discouragement, because they force us not only to express our anger and frustrations openly but to also take into account God's point of view and begin speaking words of hope and confidence to our heart while it is still wide open before God.
So I believe there is a place for expressing our negative feelings, particularly when talking directly to God in private, personal communion with Him. It is an effective way to allow our heart to be heard and feel safe to be more open and vulnerable as we realize that God is interested and willing to listen to our side of the story. This is true in our relationships and conversations with each other. When we take the time to really listen to someone and acknowledge their feelings or frustrations they are then often much more willing to listen to us as we share our thoughts and suggestions with them. But from the other side, it is important to not short-circuit the relationship by cutting off the discussion before giving the other person a chance to respond after unloading on them when we need to vent.
The same is true when we talk with God. He is certainly big enough and not threatened in the least by any of our venting or outbursts. But we need to equally give Him a chance to bring in His healing and give us the change of vision and heart that will bring us the peace that we so desperately need. This kind of two-directional praying will allow our hearts to grow and thrive and increase our rate of maturing.
This is not to say that all of our prayers need to start out negatively. The key I believe is more about being honest about what is in our heart at the moment than what it is we say. It is just as true that when we are feeling joyful, excited, filled with awe or any other number of human emotions that we should express these spontaneously to God as well. God wants intimacy with us and that means sharing everything with Him in full honesty and transparency. Getting there is the process of Christian growth that we are all going through and the goal is to move up the levels of maturity so that we can not only be closer to God but can be used by Him to nurture and care for the hearts of others who are less able to sense His presence or even trust Him yet.
Am I just trying to justify hanging on to excuses for negative thinking? Or is this something that God accepts or even encourages as part of our growing process? What do you think?
One thing I have noticed with the Psalms and other writings of the same type is that even though they may begin with negatives - Lord, destroy my enemies, don't let them . . . etc. - the endings of these same poem/songs raise the mind above the enemies to what the Creator God is really like and often a positive reaction for a human mind to extend toward God. I was just studying one of the Psalms. At the end was the phrase 'I will praise . . ." The word praise there indicated throwing up open hands toward God in JOY. That kind of a response is more than just 'words'. It involves the whole being. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteBrinder of Peace
You know, Floyd, I was just reading your commentary on negative prayers. I've got to believe that you are on the correct path here. I know the Gospels sugar coat, to some degree, the story of the crucifiction. But the idea of Jesus praying in the Garden, just before he was arrested, and talking about the flowers and the blue sky and how much he enjoyed those blessings seems luicrous. He was pouring out all the negative emotions that were in Him at the time. All the fear, all the anguish and all the uncertainty. Yes, negative emotions have a place in prayer.
ReplyDeleteSt.S
Thank-you both for your input. As I remember many of the Psalms and the pattern that seems so prevalent in many of them and then combine that with the need for us to really pray from our heart, not just performing with empty words, I come to the conclusion that there must be a reason and function for negative expression in prayer. God is not turned off by our negativity - He is not threatened by anything we do or say. My negativity becomes a problem, however, when my pride uses it to hide from God, to justify myself and block God from showing me His perspective. And isn't that what salvation is all about? Coming into synchronization with God's viewpoint and His passion and His desires? That is where we find peace and joy and relief and satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. It encourages me to know that what God is sharing with me can also benefit others.
When I attended university they sought to make me a critical thinker. In my work I was taught to think by exception (not the 85-90% of what was good but the 10-15% that needed to be fixed).
ReplyDeleteBoth are good approaches if put into proper perspective (i.e. studying ideological perspectives throughout history, or, trying to improve the operation of your business). The problem comes when they become the way we approach all of life.
I often see the down-side now before I see the upside of anything. Very often, in fact, I tend to miss the good things that are happening because I am so busy over-analyzing and feeling everything else. Therefore my prayers tend to center around the 10-15% (perhaps even less) than they do the 85-90%. But, through it all, God is gracious.