Cry

Oh Lord, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before you.

Psalm 88:1

This first verse is the only ray of light in an otherwise despondent Psalm. It ends with the Psalmist declaring that darkness is his only companion. This is probably the darkest Psalm in the Bible.

Nowadays, we'd say that the Psalmist was suffering from depression. He knew in his head that the Lord was the God of his salvation. But he had no assurance in his heart that this was the case.

What are we to do when we feel like this? Pray! Declare God to be your salvation, and cry out to him to make it so! We can be honest with God in our prayers. If we don't feel he is near or listening, we can tell him so. We don't have to fill our prayers with pious platitudes. We can question God as to why he seems so far off and not to be answering.

Let God be your comfort. Or if you are too depressed to allow him to be that, let him be your complaint. Of course you have to be respectful to him, but you can be honest with him. If you belong to him you can talk to him as a child would talk to their father.

"Oh Lord, God of my salvation, give me the prayerfulness of the Psalmist. Help me not just to praise you when all is well but to pray to you when I am depressed. Even if I get no comfort from crying out to you, let me know that you are still my God and you still care for me. In Jesus' name, amen"