It can be hard to be completely honest and real with the Lord in prayer. Church members are often taught to give thanks and tell Heavenly Father about all the good things in their lives, but what about the bad?
In his devotional address titled “When Sorrow Meets the Savior,” Perry Rockwood, the social media manager at BYU-Idaho, taught students that it is important to be honest with God and that joy can be felt through lamenting to Him.
In an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio, Rockwood talked about what he means by “lamenting to God.”
“I call it faithful complaining,” Rockwood said. “You’re telling Him, ‘I do not like what’s going on right now, but I know that You’re still there and that You love me and You feel what I’m feeling, so please help me get through this.’ You’re not just telling Him your problems. It’s bringing your sorrow to Him knowing that He can help you through it.”
In his devotional, Rockwood reminded students that the Savior Himself lamented to God in His most difficult time.
“If the perfect Son of God could lament, so can we,” Rockwood said. “The Savior Himself showed us what true lament looks like, holding nothing back, pouring out every sorrow and question in complete honesty. Don’t clean yourself up first before coming to Him. Lamenting is for the middle of the mess, not after it’s over.”
Rockwood says it was hard for him to express his true feelings to God at first.
“It wasn’t until I started and tried for the first time saying, ‘God, I know You’re there, but I’m mad,’” Rockwood said. “That was really hard to vocalize at first, but once you do it once, I realized God wants to hear that.”
Rockwood gives advice to anyone trying lamenting for the first time.
“Do it out loud,” Rockwood said. “A prayer is different when it’s said out loud versus in your heart. Find a place where you can vocalize your lamenting to God. If it’s hard for you to know what to say, write it down beforehand.”