What do you do with a prayer you can’t finish, and what does it mean that Jesus prayed one too?
The Word: Psalm 22
Psalm 22 starts in a place most of us would rather not visit. David cries out to God from a distance he can feel but can’t explain away, and the answer he’s longing for just doesn’t come. People mock him, his strength is draining, and still he keeps talking to God.
Jesus spoke the opening words of this psalm from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Think about that. The God-man stepped into real human suffering. He didn’t watch anguish from a safe distance or offer comfort only after the worst was over, because in His final hours He reached for the words of someone crying out in pain.
Because of that, you’re allowed to read Psalm 22 honestly. You don’t have to skip past the loneliness and hurry to the hopeful ending, even though there’s an ending worth reaching. When you’re crushed by what’s happening, Jesus doesn’t ask you to pretend it’s fine, because He knows exactly what a prayer from agony sounds like.
Yet the psalm doesn’t stay in the dark, and David’s song turns from pleading to praise as he remembers that God hears the ones who call on Him and looks ahead to a day when people far beyond his own lifetime will hear what the Lord has done. The turn doesn’t erase the suffering that came before it, but it does tell us suffering won’t have the last word.
We see that most clearly at the cross and the empty tomb, where Jesus was mocked, wounded, and killed, and then rose again. The resurrection doesn’t make the cross any less terrible than it looked, but it shows us that salvation was being won in the very place that looked like defeat.
Maybe you’ve held back your most painful questions because they sound too raw to say out loud. Psalm 22 tells you there’s room for them, and Jesus Himself made that cry His own. When your words run out, you can borrow David’s, sit in the sorrow for a while, and remember where the story leads.
Take Heart: Some days you’ll praise God with real confidence, and on others all you can do is call out and wait, but you’re welcome in His presence on both. The Savior who cried from the cross won’t turn away because your prayer is unfinished, and because He lives, even your darkest prayer can be offered with hope.
Search Your Soul:
Is there a painful question you’ve been afraid to bring to God?
How does Jesus’ use of this psalm change the way you think about prayer in suffering?
Where do you need the hope of resurrection without minimizing what hurts?
