Intro: [00:00:00] Hey, everybody. Welcome to the EquipCast, a weekly podcast for the Archdiocese of Omaha. I'm your host, Jim Jansen. Now let's dive into some encouragement and inspiration to equip you to live your faith and to be fruitful in your mission. Let's go.

Jim: Hey, everybody. Welcome to the EquipCast Coach's Corner, where I break down important topics to equip you and your team for mission in your family, in your church, and in your ministry. Appreciate it. My name is Jim Jansen, and today I'm going to talk about how to pray when you're angry. Okay, so, just a little bit of honesty here, prayer can be hard.

And it can be hard for lots of reasons. Sometimes we struggle with consistency, sometimes we fall asleep, but I want to address a very specific challenge that you are undoubtedly going to face if you're a parent, if you're a [00:01:00] disciple, any sort of servant of the Lord, you're going to deal with anger. And how are you supposed to pray when you're angry?

You don't have to be a disciple too long before you come to realize that our anger isn't always just. It can get us into problems. It's not always helpful. And depending on your experiences with anger when you were young, you may try to avoid it altogether. How do you pray through it when you're angry?

First off, a couple things. Here's what not to do. Number one, don't stuff it. Right? Don't just pretend you're not angry. First off, God already knows. And second, anger in itself isn't a bad thing. It's showing up because something is wrong. There's an injustice. There's something out of order, and it is, with the Lord, a great tool for getting things back in order.

So, number one, don't stuff it. Number two, don't, like, do the kind of Christiany version of stuffing it. And by that I mean, like, [00:02:00] Jesus, just take it away. I give it to you… so I don't have to feel it. No. As pious as that may sound, what you're actually supposed to do is feel it. But you're supposed to feel it with Jesus.

So, here's what you do. Right? Good prayer has to be consistent and honest. So, I'm going to give you four steps to help you feel it but feel it with Jesus. If I had a footnote, I don't know if how you do… put a footnote on a podcast but shout out to the Institute for Priestly Formation here in Omaha, Nebraska.

They've done great work teaching, uh, young men and priests, seminarians and priests, how to pray. And this, uh, method, this four-step method, A R R R, comes from them. So, shout out to those guys. First step. Just acknowledge that you're angry and by that, I mean like admit it to yourself. You may need to get quiet You may need to work a little bit [00:03:00] to notice what's going on inside some clues that there's something going on inside That's not quite right.

Maybe it's like, you know snacking five minutes after you finish dinner Just, you know, death scrolling, just internal agitation, which sometimes causes us to run to food or entertainment or something else. Just take the time to get quiet and notice what's going on inside. And when you realize you're angry, just acknowledge it.

Number two, relate it to Jesus. It sounds like this. Jesus, I'm angry. I'm like really annoyed. I can't believe this happened. And just let it all out. Even if you're mad at him. Step number three. After you've acknowledged, Okay, I'm angry. Jesus, I'm angry. And maybe I'm even a little mad at you. How could you let this happen?

Then just wait and receive what he gives you. I promise he will [00:04:00] respond. He might bring up a memory. He might just give you a sense of peace. You might come to a mental realization that gives you perspective. Whatever it is He gives you, receive it. Step number four, respond. What are you going to do with that memory?

What are you going to do with that sense of peace? What are you going to do with that perspective? I suggest taking it and applying it. And if you need to, start another conversation. Lord, how can I keep this peace? Lord, what am I supposed to do with this memory? But respond to what He gives you. Okay, so problem is with this though is sometimes it's hard to bring up the anger, right?

Sometimes it hides from us, especially those of us who are just a little bit sanguine. That's where the Psalms of lament come in. See there's a whole list of Psalms [00:05:00] that are basically like how to complain to God with faith 101. Psalm 22, Psalm 44, Psalm 60, Psalm 74, Psalm 79, 80, 85, Don't worry, I'll cite this at the end.

So, let me give you just a little sample here. This is Psalm 80, starting in verse 5. O Lord of hosts, how long will you smolder in anger while your people pray? You have fed them the bread of tears. You have made them drink tears in great measure. You have left us to be fought over by our neighbors, our enemies to ride us.

O God of hosts, restore us. Light up your face, and we shall be saved. Okay, couple things to notice there. There's anger, for sure. There's frustration. But there's also faith and petition. You actually can't petition to God to intervene if you don't believe that He is God, that He's powerful, that He's good, that He [00:06:00] loves, and He wants to intervene.

And holding both of those things in tension, the faith and the frustration, perfectly modeled for us, written by the Holy Spirit, modeled for us in the Psalms. Okay, last thing, if you're still like, I don't know, I'm not so sure, I feel really uncomfortable being angry, and I certainly don't like crying out to God when I'm angry, I don't want to blame Him, well, you know what, Jesus actually gives us a great example of this.

The psalms, of course, right, are like Jesus loves them. He prays the psalms in the pinnacle climax of his life. Jesus praise Psalm 22. You may have heard this, right? It's in the passion. It shows up in Palm Sunday. Jesus gives us a clue as to what's going on in his heart, mind, and how he recognizes Jesus.

The father's work in his life at that moment by praying Psalm 22. Now he doesn't pray the whole Psalm. He [00:07:00] just cites the very beginning of the Psalm. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? So, our closing prayer here, I'm going to read Psalm 22, but I want you to notice the clearly one prophetic reference to Jesus and his agony on the cross and also his emotions.

And second, I want you to notice the alteration of faith and frustration that ends in triumphant hope. This is Psalm 22. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why so far from my call for help, my cries of anguish? My God, I call by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I have no relief. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One.

You are the glory of Israel, and you our fathers trusted. They trusted and you rescued them. To you they cried out and escaped. In you they trusted and were not disappointed, but I am a worm, not a man. Scorned by men, despised by the people, [00:08:00] all who see me mock me. They curl their lips; they shake their heads at me.

He relied on the Lord, let him deliver him. If he loves him, let him rescue him. Do not stay far from me, for trouble is near. And there is no one to help. Dogs surround me. A pack of evildoers closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. Deliver my soul from the sword. My life from the grip of the dog.

Save me from the lion's bow. My poor life from the horns of the wild bull. Then I will proclaim your name to my brethren. In the assembly I will praise you. I will offer praise in the great assembly, my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him. All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord.

All the families of nations will bow low before him. For kingship belongs to the Lord, the ruler over the nations. All who sleep in the earth will bow low before [00:09:00] the Lord. All who have gone down to the dust will kneel in homage. And I will live for the Lord. My descendants will serve you. The generations to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought.

All right, what are your thoughts? You can respond back in the chat at equip. ArchOmaha.org. Check out the show notes for a list of the Psalms of Lament. Thanks everybody. Thanks for listening to the EquipCast. We hope this episode has inspired you to live your faith and equip you to be fruitful in your mission.

Stay connected with us by going to equip. ArchOmaha.org. God bless and see you next time.