When we’re in distress, our impulse to pray is almost irresistible. That’s good; we’re meant to be drawn to God in all situations, especially our most desperate. But sometimes desperate prayer turns into depressing prayer, and may not even be prayer at all. When we talk to God without faith, without hope, and without expectation, we’re just talking. We’re merely itemizing our problems.
Are you praying or rehearsing your difficulties? There’s a difference. God doesn’t need your description of the problem. He already knows it in far more detail than you do. He is looking for you to see his solution and then agree with it in prayer. That’s what faith is—a vision of the goodness of God and how it might apply to the situation. When your vision—or at least your heart behind the vision, whether or not the details are right—aligns with God’s, things happen. Faith and expectation grow, and God puts his answer in motion. And your stress gives way to praise.
