The Angry Prayer Project

Prayers of Anger, Prayers of Truth

“I have not lost faith in God. I have moments of anger and protest.

Sometimes I've been closer to him for that reason.”

Inspiration and healing through angry prayer?

At first, those ideas don’t seem compatible. But if you’re so stuck in an angry place that you can no longer commune with the Divine then how can you ever experience inspiration and healing?

All people of faith are called to a life of honesty and prayer.

Sometimes, however, because of the way we are raised up, even the most faithful find it difficult to pray truthfully during times of anger, frustration and stress.

Are you one of those people who is angry at God or who feels bottled up with this brokenness? Have you ever considered how many biblical heroes felt that same kind of brokenness with God and yet prayed their way through it?

I believe that God calls us to transition through the difficult emotions that plague us toward a place of peace by naming the problem, proclaiming our pain and reframing our perspective.

Naming, proclaiming and reframing: This is the potential of truthful prayer as it is modeled in the Bible.

And this is the hope of the Angry Prayer Project, to practice the biblical tradition of praying truthfully even if we are angry at God.

In order to read, to reflect and to participate, click forward.

If you have never been so angry that you have discontinued your conversations with the Divine just when you needed them most, be grateful and try not to judge those that struggle to pray truthfully every day.

Angry prayers may seem ugly and foreign to you, perhaps even blasphemous. In truth, I believe, there is nothing so blasphemous as trying to fool God by just paying lip service in prayer.

So, if you are suffering, please stay and explore peace. If you are not suffering, be kind to those that are and celebrate your peace.

Either way, remember:

“If you are not saying something, then you aren’t saying anything.”

Ian Punnett