As I blogged about a few weeks ago, Jesus made it a point to retreat often. Luke 22 showed us the benefit of this, and how Jesus was strengthened as He was praying. Luke 21 tells us that He retreated every night. Other people who I try to take examples from are the psalmists. I love the Psalms because they give us insight into who the writers were, but more importantly, how they interacted with God. I love the range of topics the writers of psalms discuss, and how nothing ever seems to be held back: not anger or sadness, nor fear and especially not joy.
When I see this, I see how God wants us to interact with Him. I see how we shouldn’t hold back with what we are thinking and simply tell God what’s going on with us. A common problem is, we don’t know how. Here is my confession: Most of the time I don’t know how and I have a master’s degree in the field of counseling. This is another reason how come I love reading the Psalms. Many times what I read resonates in a way where I am able to communicate what’s going on with me, to God Almighty.
What’s beneficial about this is as I am praying through a Psalm, I am being strengthened. Remember Luke 22. Jesus was strengthened as He prayed. Not before. Not after. It was during His time with God. Likewise, it is during our time with God that we are strengthened. The key point is to not use “I don’t know what to say” as an excuse not to spend time with God. We have the option of using the Psalms as a guide. Yet, it really doesn’t have to be the Psalms. There has been many times I have prayed other songs from artist ranging from Metallica, to Mercy Me. Find what resonates with you. Find what hits home and explains the frustrations, the anxiety, the stress and burnout, and go to God with it. Go to God and let Him restore you so you can return to and continue in your calling.