“The refusal to accept the harshness of God’s ways in the name of his love was an authentic form of prayer. Indeed, the ancient Prophets of Israel were not in the habit of consenting to God’s harsh judgment and did not simply nod, saying, ‘Thy will be done.’ They often challenged him, as if to say, ‘Thy will be changed.’ They had often countered and even annulled divine decrees.’ … A man who lived by honesty could not be expected to suppress his anxiety when tormented by profound perplexity… There are some forms of suffering that a man must accept with love and bear in silence. There are other agonies to which he must say no.” Abraham Heschel

“Alas, Sovereign Lord!
How completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem
by saying, ‘You will have peace,’
when the sword is at our throats!”
Jeremiah 4:10

Moving From the Head to the Heart

• Have you ever “meekly accepted the state of the world” because you thought it was what God wanted of you (“Thy will be done.”)?
• Have you ever asked God hard questions about “the state of the world, with all its injustice and unfairness?”
• Can you imagine yourself “yelling at the Lord” like Sonny? …”calling God to account?” …that at times the Lord might want you “to start arguing” with him?

Abba, give me courage within, and trust in you, to argue instead of nodding assent when things don’t seem right.

For More: The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann