A Prayer for When You Want to Complain
By Betsy de Cruz
“I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.” – Psalm 104:33-34
At first, I was so overjoyed about my new job that I didn’t mind the long commute, but by week three, the stress of navigating heavy traffic began to wear me down. Even though I knew my dream job was well worth the drive, and we had plans to move closer in 6 months, I dreaded getting in the car. Until one day I discovered a simple hack that transformed my attitude.
Simply turning on worship music lifted my spirits and made the drive so much more pleasant. When I joined in and sang aloud, I remembered again how grateful I was for my job. My entire outlook on life brightened during my hour commute.
If you are anything like me, your gratitude and joy can quickly take a downward spiral into complaining and a poor “woe is me” mentality. When we dwell on everything going wrong in our lives, burdens grow heavier and challenges seem greater.
Taking a few minutes to worship God reminds us of the many reasons we have to praise Him. We can’t help but rejoice when we remember His faithful love, power, and unchanging character. Psalm 104:33-34 reminds us that if we sang our whole lives long, we still wouldn’t run out of reasons to praise God. As we worship God, gratitude grows. We recall His goodness and care for us.
Worship defeats the downward cycle of complaining. It renews our minds, so that our thoughts—the Psalmist refers to our “meditation” here—will please the Lord. If you take time to praise God in the middle of whatever exasperating, stress-inducing, or plain-old-depressing situation you find yourself in today, God will transform your attitude and build your faith.
Worship honors God and renews our minds. How about reading a Psalm of worship today or turning on some Christian music? You can turn your commute—or time doing housework, cooking, or rocking a child—into an uplifting time instead of a drag.
It doesn’t matter if you praise Him with words, sing out loud, or in your thoughts, God will be pleased with the meditation of your heart as you rejoice in Him.
What if we start right now? Let’s pray:
Lord, right now I will choose to praise you for your great goodness and lovingkindness. You know my circumstances, and I thank you because I can rest in your power and care over every aspect of my life.
God, I praise you for your wisdom, which has designed my circumstances to shape me for your glory and help me get to know you better. I praise you for your steadfast love, which surrounds me every minute of the day. Thank you for being with me.
Thank you, Jesus, for showing your love by dying on the cross for me. I praise you for the power of your blood which rescues me from sin and death. I remember the power that raised Jesus from the dead and lives in me to make me an overcomer.
Lord, thank you for the blessings and grace you so freely give. Forgive me for complaining over my circumstances. May my meditation today be pleasing to you as I praise you and remember your goodness to me.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Betsy de Cruz helps overwhelmed women take small steps to invite more of God’s presence and power into their lives. Connect with Betsy to get your free Quiet Time Renewal Guide and other resources at FaithSpillingOver.com. Her book More of God is a distracted woman’s guide to more meaningful quiet times. After living in the Middle East for 16 years with her husband and two children, Betsy landed in Texas, where she still enjoys drinking chai with friends.
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