Listen "#57: “Filter-Free” Praying When Things Get Tough"
Episode Synopsis
Do you ever feel you can’t really be honest with God when you are upset, angry, or grieving? My guest in this episode believes you don’t need to filter your prayers, and has the biblical evidence to back him up. I’m joined by Dr. Keith Campbell, author of Of Heroes and Villains, which explores prayers of lament in the New Testament. Keith received his Ph.D. in New Testament from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Global Scholars.
In this podcast we discuss:
Why it’s okay to wrestle with God when things go wrong, not filtering our prayers
The biblical basis for questioning God, wrestling with God, and crying out to God (lament prayer)
Why we don’t hear much about this type of prayer, and what we lose as a result
How filter-free praying helped him in his walk with Christ while at college
Isn’t this childish, just throwing a temper tantrum because we are immature and unable to accept God’s will?
Where trust comes in during a filtered or lament prayer
The role of others when we are in dark days
New Testament examples, including Jesus’s example of praying an unfiltered prayer
Does this type of prayer really change anything?
Doesn’t this type of prayer contradict commands to “consider it all joy” and assurances that God will ultimately make all right?
How college students can help revive the practice of filter-free praying
Resources mentioned during our conversation:
D. Keith Campbell, Of Heroes and Villains: The Influence of the Psalmic Lament on Synoptic Characterization
C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed
Dallas Willard, Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God
“Why Pray?”, Thinking Christianly podcast #10
May Young, Walking With God Through The Valley: Recovering the Purpose of Biblical Lament
In this podcast we discuss:
Why it’s okay to wrestle with God when things go wrong, not filtering our prayers
The biblical basis for questioning God, wrestling with God, and crying out to God (lament prayer)
Why we don’t hear much about this type of prayer, and what we lose as a result
How filter-free praying helped him in his walk with Christ while at college
Isn’t this childish, just throwing a temper tantrum because we are immature and unable to accept God’s will?
Where trust comes in during a filtered or lament prayer
The role of others when we are in dark days
New Testament examples, including Jesus’s example of praying an unfiltered prayer
Does this type of prayer really change anything?
Doesn’t this type of prayer contradict commands to “consider it all joy” and assurances that God will ultimately make all right?
How college students can help revive the practice of filter-free praying
Resources mentioned during our conversation:
D. Keith Campbell, Of Heroes and Villains: The Influence of the Psalmic Lament on Synoptic Characterization
C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed
Dallas Willard, Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God
“Why Pray?”, Thinking Christianly podcast #10
May Young, Walking With God Through The Valley: Recovering the Purpose of Biblical Lament
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