I know that’s a rather loaded question, isn’t it? If we truly were honest, we would have to admit that we don’t always tell the truth. Even Christians, who do their best to be truthful, lie. Even if those lies are only to us.
I’m a pretty trusting person, probably too trusting at times. But I’ve learned over the years that people tell me what they think I want to hear. And I think we are all guilty of saying something we don’t mean – like telling someone, “Let’s get lunch,” but then never following through. Let’s face it. It can be really hard to always be honest, to always keep our word, but I think it is a goal to strive for.
Like Jim Carrey in Liar, Liar, who couldn’t tell a lie for one day, being honest, can put us in some awkward situations. But all humor aside, honesty, especially with ourselves and with God, is the only way we are going to be free of the things that weigh us down.
As an example, years ago, I went through a pretty rough spiritual crisis. In my attempt to understand God, I had to come to understand myself. I had to learn to tell God the truth. Do you know how hard that is?
Have you ever lied to God in your prayers?
Perhaps that sounds like a rather bold statement, but I think when we hold back from God things we don’t want to admit to ourselves or to Him, we are also holding back the truth. We simply don’t want to be honest.
When I think back to the day I finally admitted things to God that I had buried in my heart, I find it rather ironic that this attitude came from the girl who lost a job because she’d refused to lie for the company. I was that honest Christian who just “couldn’t” lie. And to other people, I did do my best to speak truth in love.
But I didn’t realize that the complexity of who we are could cause all kinds of feelings that swirl into things God calls sin. A hurt turns into a grudge that turns into deep-seated bitterness. And we bury it rather than admit it because we think no one can see how we really feel.
Problem is? I’ve never been able to hide those feelings from God for very long. They rise up and cause me all manner of grief, until I can finally sit down and have a heart-to-heart with the Lord in prayer.
I want to give one caution here though. Honesty with God is not easy. It’s messy, and can include some explosive feelings. If I have harbored anger, for instance, in my heart for ten years, when it surfaces in that prayer with God? It’s going to sound a lot like Job’s frustrations or the Psalmists cries or the grieving laments of the prophets. These men were not afraid to express their gut-deep emotions to their Maker. They asked the “why?” questions and the “how long?” questions and even in the New Testament, Mary and Martha nearly scolded Jesus with their, “Lord, if you’d been here, this wouldn’t have happened” comment. As if to say, Lord, don’t you care?
Honesty with God is Jesus sweating drops of blood in the garden, begging for another way. It’s Him crying out from the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
Honest is just plain hard to be.
But back to that crisis I had those years ago. It was one of many times in my life when I’ve had to get alone with the Lord – whether on my knees in a bedroom, in a prayer room at church, on my bike at the park – we can pray anywhere – but honesty is you and God alone.
When we can do that, that’s when the lies lose their hold over us. We don’t have to be afraid to be known because God already knows the truth about us. And that is a freeing thing.
Jesus said, “And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” When He said you will know the truth, He was talking about knowing Him because He also said, “Whom the Son sets free shall be free indeed.”
Knowing Jesus is the knowing the truth that will set us free.
But liars can’t be free because our lies won’t release us. Only Jesus can set us free when we finally admit the truth to Him.
Have you come to that place where you can be honest with God? What are you willing to risk to tell Him, and only Him, everything?
~Selah
#honestprayers #livegrace #thetruthwillsetyoufree
