Does God feel distant to you right now?
Like he decided to go on an extended vacation without telling you about it?
Perhaps you’re struggling through some really difficult circumstances and its hard to stay positive.
Maybe your prayer life feels empty. You’re praying consistently, but you feel like you’re just talking to no one.
Or maybe you just aren’t excited about spending time with God, whereas before you were always looking forward to those quiet times.
And when you get into that funky place, it’s important to first of all realize that it’s totally normal and it’s something that every Christian experiences. The key to breaking out of your spiritual funk is to have a game plan.
How are you going to reconnect with God emotionally when you do get into that place where you feel distant?
My game plan involves praying through the Psalms.
The Book of Psalms consists of 150 poems, songs, and prayers written by people in a variety of circumstances.
Sometimes they are praising God for awesome stuff that’s happening in their life.
Sometimes they’re running for their lives and they’re asking God to intervene so they don’t die, you know, kind of serious.
Often they’re celebrating God’s goodness and reflecting on who God is, his nature and his character.
And then there are other psalms where the writer wishes that they had never been born.
And what’s really cool about the Psalms is often they can describe how you’re feeling better than you can.
When you read a psalmist pouring out their heart to God in a way that resonates with you, it feels like they’re praying on your behalf.
Then meditating on that psalm can bridge that emotional gap with God because now you have a common language, you have a common way of expressing or communicating what’s going on in your life.
Here are some of my go-to Psalms whenever I find myself in a spiritual funk:
Psalm 37
Whenever I’m feeling anxious and impatient, I read, meditate, and pray through Psalm 37. Here’s what it says:
“Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. […] Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
Psalm 37:3-4, 7
Whenever I read this, I’m reminded that my role in this relationship with God is to trust him completely. To wait for him, to be patient with him, and to know that he is in control and that he knows what I need.
Psalm 73
I read this one whenever I’m frustrated and feel like throwing in the towel. Being a Christian is hard work and it can be tempting to go back to my old way of life when things get tough. Here’s what Psalm 73 says:
“As for me, my feet had almost slipped. I had nearly lost my foothold for I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. […] Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and wash my hands in innocence. […] When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their final destiny.”
Psalm 73:2-3, 13, 16-17
And this Psalm always brings me back to having a heavenly perspective. I can get so wrapped up and caught up in the day to day and how my life is going at any given point in time and forget that we all have an end destination and that the work that I’m doing now is to prepare for that.
So that is always super encouraging for me when I feel like throwing in the towel and when I feel like quitting.
There will be times in your life where you feel disconnected from God. It is not something that you can avoid. But by praying and meditating through the psalms, you can find the words your heart longs to express and reestablish that connection.
