The other day I decided to pour my heart out to Jesus in prayer.
Until then, I had been struggling in my prayer life. I had a lot of things on my mind, but I was hesitant to go to the Lord with everything on my heart, because some of my issues were with people and not my own weaknesses. For some reason I felt God wouldn’t respond to my hurtful feelings toward others.
The truth is; I get emotional.
I can be sensitive and internalize people’s perception of me.
I heard from a preacher years ago that faith moves God, not our tears.
Yes faith moves God, but God cares about everything on our hearts as well. Everything I’m concerned about, He’s concerned about.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.
Revelation 21:3
Don’t be afraid to pour your heart out to Jesus. Even the things you think you shouldn’t feel as a Christian; Jesus wants to hear all about it so He can heal you.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.
Psalm 34:17-20
Now remember that we are made righteous by believing in the finished work of the cross, not our own works “lest any man should boast.”
I used to think I was bothering God when I brought every little thing to Him.
I remember attending a church Life Group for the first time, and as I left, I thought; “wow, these people pray about everything…” But you know, God is truly attentive to our prayers.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
1 Peter 3:12
God actively and patiently waits for us to partner with Him and pray His will on the earth; poised and ready to send His angels with the answers to our prayers.
Then he said, Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.
Daniel 10:12 NLT
God chose to use us to accomplish His will on the earth, demonstrating His depth of love and wisdom.
He loves us. He wants us to get the joy of seeing our prayers answered as we trust and wait on Him. He’s ready to move mountains on our behalf. But when believe that prayer doesn’t work, or if we don’t feel spiritual enough when we pray, we start to lose our faith.
One evening, sitting on my couch, I knew I needed someone to talk to. I even considered talking to a therapist for my mental health, as I’m always planning ahead and looking towards the future, which causes anxiety if left unchecked.
But as I was considering this, I felt a question rise in my heart:
Why don’t you talk to Jesus?
I’m in no way discrediting therapists, who support and care for our mental health and emotional well being.
But in that moment, I needed to talk to Jesus.
I needed to speak to the one who knit me together in my mother’s womb. The one who spoke me into existence. The one who created me for His glory.
Jesus knows me. All my quirks, my frustrations, my passions and pursuits…and my sensitive heart. Yes, it was time to pour my heart out to Jesus.
Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7
“OK Jesus, here goes,”
I talked to Him about everything that concerned me, surrendering everything until I was completely empty. I was careful to surrender even the tiniest of concerns, waiting to hear from the Holy Spirit about any other issues that needed addressing.
Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming!
Song of Solomon 2:15
As I did this, I began to feel God’s tangible presence around me. Even in all my ramblings and frustrations, Jesus just held my hand as I poured my heart out to Him. He listened to me and He didn’t once turn away.
I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!
Psalm 116:1-2
Pour your heart out to Jesus today.
Over the years, I’ve prayed those awkward, rambling prayers, powerful, calling down the heavens prayers, and those weeping prayers, with tears streaming down my face as I cried out to God for the nations and for my family.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Ephesians 6:18 NIV
When you pray, your job is not to focus on how you feel, or to put pressure on yourself, but simply to:
Go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
Matthew 6:6
Lose the sense that you have to feel a certain way to pray; or that you have to be inspired or motivated.
Just go to God and He will lead you.
If you need to get from a place of fear to faith, then pray. If you need to go from confusion to peace, pray. If you need to go from distraction to focus on God, then pray. God will get you there. Just pray.
He will move your heart to a position of faith when you seek Him. So come as you are.
I marvel at how easily I get caught up in trying to work my way to God and His peace.
I’ve been doing things my own way for years. So giving the reins to God is a necessary, daily task. God is so much bigger than we can imagine, and can handle every little detail of our lives. So I challenge you to get away and pour your heart out to God today.
I’d love to hear your testimony in the comments below!
Be encouraged.
All things that are truly spiritual are simple. All things that are religious are complicated. Living holy does require commitment, but not religious commitment. It requires commitment that flows from the love of God, not from fear from getting it wrong.
David Diga Hernandez
