Dark Night of the Soul

The "Dark Night of the Soul" is for real. We hear the desperate words of Jesus as he was alone on the cross "My God, my God why have you forsaken me?"-Mt.27:46b. We all come to those dry times of life, when we feel as though God does not hear our prayers, or that He has gone away. Some, who were faithful, begin to wonder about God period. One theologian called these times the "Sahara of the heart." Maybe you have been through such a time or are going through such a time. Through this time God reveals that He is not our puppet on a string. God frees us from false, idolatrous images. It is a purifying silence. In these times God rids us of religion and rituals that we have become attached to. In my own experience of such times, often my only prayer was "help." I lived my life without a doubt about God, but wondering what He was waiting on to deliver me. Had He heard my cries? So, how do we pray in such times? Reading the "Lament Psalms" (the Psalms where the writer is complaining to God) such as Ps.42:9 "Why have you forgotten me?" or Ps.109:1 "God whom I praise, break your silence?" These teach us to pray our inner conflicts and contradictions. It's like a 2yr.old pitching a fit into their Daddy's arms, to finally be comforted. God can handle your complaints. ---So what do we do during these times? Persevere. Keep on doing what you know. Pray, listen, worship.