Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is dry; my eyes fail while I wait for my God. Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; they are mighty who would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully; though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it. (Psalm 69.1-4)

Prayer is emotional and raw. It is pouring out one’s soul before God. Jesus taught us to pray by example in this way. He is the One “who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with vehement cries and tears to [the Father] who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5.7-8).

Jesus was not cut off for His own sins but for our sins. What does this tell us about our own relationship with God and with others when it comes to sin and suffering?

1. Make sure our faith is in Jesus not ourselves.
2. Make sure our love for the Father is motivated by the sacrifice of His Son (see 2 Corinthians 8.9).
3. Make sure you are willing to be conformed to Christ by entering into His sufferings.

First, the suffering …then, the glory!