A prayer for when grief makes praying hard by Kimberly Carroll, read by Lea Martin.

The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

It's on 34-18.

What happens when grief makes praying hard?

When prayers of surrender feel the sting of fear?

What happens when worry whispers, but what if God takes them too?

Or when prayers of praise are layered with anger and disappointment underneath?

When prayers that once flowed with ease now feel sucked dry and empty of words?

When God's peace once kept your heart at ease, but now he suddenly feels absent and unreachable.

What can we do when the weight of it all feels crushing?

But people expect you to be okay because you know Jesus.

These are all feelings and questions with which the grieving often wrestle.

For those fighting to hold onto their faith, this pressure to suppress the darker side

of grief can trigger enormous guilt.

I'm a Christian.

I'm not supposed to be afraid.

I'm not supposed to doubt God's provision.

I'm supposed to be stronger than this.

Broken from loss and ashamed of wrestling spiritually, grief can make even genuine believers

feel alone and separated from God.

If this is you today, you have my deepest empathy.

Please know that you are not alone.

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