Disappointed by God?
Praying Through the Faith Crisis Nobody Warned You About
I’m just going to say it. Sometimes it’s easy to be disappointed with God and struggle with prayer. Here’s my story and how praying through a crisis of faith changes you.
I was uncomfortably cold and felt less than attractive in my crinkly pale blue paper examination gown and less-than-adequately shaven legs. My head was spinning as the doctor mentioned the words biopsy, prognosis, and immediate surgery. What? What do you mean? I’m 31, this can’t be happening…Hm, At least I wore clean socks today.”
I remember driving home that day with hot tears, blurry eyes, and a heartache the size of the Grand Canyon. How could I tell my husband? What do we say to the kids? You see, I had a beautiful marriage and three amazing littles under the age of 6 at home, and a life-time ahead of me. God, this is not what I had planned. Are you going to take this all away from me?
It was enough that I was facing a health crisis, but my faith in God was tottering as well.
God, You are good, but I don’t see how this is good.
I couldn’t comprehend a good God allowing really bad things to happen.
I had a choice to make. I could face the unknown future clinging to faith in God or walk through the wilderness without Him. I could ruminate on the crisis, or fix my eyes on things above and allow my prayers to keep me focused on Jesus Christ.
One would make the struggle go deeper and darker, the other would bring light and hope. One requires discernment while the other calls you to spin out of control.
That faith crisis was 25 years ago. Since then I’ve had numerous moments of darkness that gnawed on me like a ravenous beast.
Yet the Lord has been faithful to walk me through the darkest seasons of my life, albeit sometimes kicking and screaming. I’ve found Him to be the steady Rock on which to build my life and a faithful friend to talk to.
Nobody really warns you about how quickly a crisis of faith can pounce. It is in those very moments that we have a God-given life-line called PRAYER. So when life storms hit us out of nowhere, God uses them to take us from being a spiritual wimp to a prayer warrior. He equips us with the power of prayer!
What about you? Relationships, finances, health, death, deformity, natural disasters, and disease. The list of “Good God-Bad Things” can be exhaustive if we let it. It’s hard to wait on God but it’s harder when you’re spiritually stuck in a prayer rut.
What do you do when your crisis of faith turns to disappointment with God?
You pray.
What do you do when what you know to be true about God clashes with your reality?
You lament. (Lament is a painful, faith-filled prayer that leads you to trust God.)
You boldly and relentlessly pursue His presence especially in the midst of questioning and suffering.
Press in.
I used to think that I had to hold back my real feelings with God. I believed if I prayed about what I really felt, that God would smite me with another crisis or turn away from me in disgust.
My spiritual struggle with prayer made me feel like I wasn’t being a “good” Christian, and if I shared that struggle with anyone, they would see me as an imposter.
That was a lie.
The majority of Psalms are cries of lament. The psalmist cries with deep emotions that seem to point a finger at God and question Him.
Lamentations is an entire book in the Bible that is a guttural cry to the Lord of mourning and weeping in the midst of horrific circumstances.
Men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the Bible are no different than we are. They questioned, doubted, and struggled with understanding an infinite God with a finite, faulty, and frail mind.
And God still loved them and tenderly drew them to Himself with grace.
He used them to change the world.
He can use us, too.
Is it spiritually legal to question God?
Yep. But there’s a caveat.
There’s a difference between questioning God and accusing Him.
Questioning God about how He moves is completely different than telling Him He can’t move. While prayer can be real and raw, it should never be rude or full of ridicule.
Let’s take a look at how David prayed.
Four keys to honest prayers
Ask hard questions of God.
Lay out your concerns, fears, and needs.
Focus on what is true.
Worship.
Let’s look at Psalm 13 (ESV)
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
13How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
We see David question God in vs 1-2 and bring His fears/needs before Him in vs 3-4. Next we see David turn and remind his own heart of the truth of who God is in verse 5. Finally, David resolves in his heart to keep worshipping from a position of past experiences of God’s goodness.
David never accused God of wrongdoing or blamed Him for his dire circumstances. Instead, he inquired of the Lord, genuinely sought answers, and made the choice to keep pressing into His relationship with God through worship. He did that when it was hard and when he didn’t understand. He learned about the beauty of casting his burdens onto the Lord.
We can, too.
Are you in a season where you don’t know how to pray? Is there anything you stopped talking to God about because it hasn’t been resolved the way you planned?
Sister, the Lord hears the humble cry of a faith-filled, hurting believer. Painful prayers are God’s way of drawing you near and deepening your faith in a God who loves you unconditionally through Christ.
How to Pray
Today sweet friend, pray with honesty. Lament. Grab a journal and write it all out…the good, bad, and the ugly. Read through the Psalms and highlight who God is and remind yourself of His nature. Put in your earbuds, and worship while you walk through a park. Get into your Bible and memorize verses that remind you of His promises. Recall and remember His faithfulness in the past and trust He will be faithful again.
If you want to learn how to pray using scripture check out my Bible study called, Praying Scripture: Hearing the Heart of God in Psalm 103
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This year we are gathering to focus on prayer, rest, and time alone with God. Expect in-depth biblical teaching, quality alone time, and rich conversation with other women who are pursuing God.
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For more information or to reserve your spot, check out my Women’s Retreat page. There are only 8 spots left and registration closes March 2,2026!
Read related articles:
5 Keys to a Powerful Prayer Life
How to Rekindle Your Prayer Life
4 Powerful Tips on How to Be a Bold Prayer Warrior for Your Children
Prayers for Your Children: A Mother’s Prayer of Trust and Surrender
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Thanks for your article. I agree; never stop pouring your heart out to God even when you don’t understand. That’s why I love the Psalms so much. When we lament before God, we always end up in the loving arms of Jesus. And our lament changes to proclaiming the goodness and power of God through our faith in Jesus. There are prayers I’ve been praying for more than 40 years. Time is not an issue for me. If He says the answer is “No”, I will certainly stop praying for these things. But until then, my prayers will continue on a consistent and urgent basis and will not stop no matter what the circumstances.
Thank you for highlighting laments. This is a powerful practuce.