Honest Prayers

by Abraham Cremeens


We all have our breaking points--which we typically avoid like the plague. We want to believe we are superman or superwoman, and we don’t like reminders that we are not. We also like a version of God where he sweeps in and meets our every need on our specific timeline. We would prefer answers to prayer that come before we even pray them!


Get real for a moment, though. You are not superman or superwoman. Christians get cancer, lose their jobs, and experience all sorts of hardships and heartaches. Prayers seemingly go unanswered. All of that to say, Christianity doesn’t come wrapped up with a nice bow on top. It’s messy.


There are often two reactions amid that messiness. Some get mad at God and reject him. Others choose to ignore the messiness and put on a fake smile all day, every day. Neither option is a good one. Thankfully, Habakkuk offers an alternative: a faithful life that honors God, lives in the mess, and honestly expresses doubts and frustrations.


Habakkuk was a person just like you. He loved God, obeyed God, and sought to love others. He cared about his fellow Israelites and wanted the best for them. He made it his aim to accomplish just that. But everything collapsed around him. He could have run from God in anger. He could have ignored the mess and acted like everything was fine. However, he chose a more God-honoring path.


Habakkuk was raw and honest with God. He didn’t sugarcoat anything nor hide his true feelings. He had begged God to intervene and end the corruption and godlessness of his nation, the covenant people of God. He had prayed that prayer a long time, but it went unanswered from his vantage point. Finally, he spoke candidly, trusting God enough to say it.


O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong?  (Habakkuk 1:2-3a, ESV)


Certainly you can be arrogant in a prayer like this, but I don’t see that here. I see trust. When you trust someone enough (such as a parent, spouse, or best friend), you stop hiding and let them hear your most raw thoughts and emotions. You probably only have one or two people like that in your life, someone to whom you can say anything. Habakkuk shows that in a healthy Christian life, God is the one you can say anything to.


Habakkuk let God be God. God loved Habakkuk and responded by revealing key truths about himself. God assured him (and us) that he wasn’t ignoring the corruption but rather had always been working to address the heinous sin among the Israelites.


Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. ( Habakkuk 1:5, ESV)


Now, that work included using the Chaldeans to attack Judah and take them into exile because of their covenant unfaithfulness. Habakkuk wasn’t a big fan of that idea but, as he listened to God, he recognized and saw the beauty of God’s redemptive plan. He was about to bring justice on those who had rejected him but would keep his promise to save a faithful remnant.


Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.(Habakkuk 2:4, ESV)


God is a refuge to Habakkuk and to all who live by faith. This journey of honest prayer served as a pathway to finally recognize that God is enough, that God is sufficient, that God is trustworthy, and that God is always working regardless of what we see happening.


Habakkuk trusted God. In the end, Habakkuk finally realized everything around him could collapse and fall apart, but knowing and following God was all he needed. He concluded…


Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. (Habakkuk 3:17-18, ESV)


These lessons seem like pivotal truths for every Christian. They are something you and I need to be reminded of every day. Please join us this Sunday as we launch this study and imitate Habakkuk in honest prayers that lead us to trust in God and recognize that he is enough. We will be memorizing Habakkuk 3:17-18 if you would like to get a headstart. See you Sunday!