Jeremiah 4:1-19

Be Still: Father, thank you for the gift of your word. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit and pour your love into my heart today. 

Read: Jeremiah 4:1-19

'Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent .' (v19)

Encounter: Jeremiah has been dubbed ‘the weeping prophet’ and in this verse it’s easy to see why. His message drips with grief and anguish. Safe to say, Jeremiah was in touch with his feelings, and he wasn’t afraid to put them on display. He’d have probably got some funny looks at church! Personally, I like to think of Jeremiah less as the weeping, over emotional, gloomy prophet and more as the ‘honest prophet’. And I reckon we could all do with being a bit more like Jeremiah!

God wants an honest relationship with us. Sometimes life is hard, sometimes we feel anxious, sometimes we get angry. God wants us to talk to him about it, all. He wants us to tell him how we’re actually doing, not the cleaned-up censored version. It’s easy sometimes to get lost in trying to pray the right prayer, to tell God what we think he wants to hear when all he really wants from us is a bit of Jeremiah style honesty.

Apply: Take a minute. Be still. How are you feeling today? Tell Him. Are you feeling worried about anything? Tell Him. When you pray, where does your mind wander to? Talk to Him about that! Take a leaf out of Jeremiah’s book today and be honest with God.

Devote: Thank you Jesus that you meet me where I’m at and that you love me just as I am. Please help me to be more honest with you in prayer.