What does Psalm 42:3 teach about expressing emotions in prayer to God?

Setting the Scene

• “My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” (Psalm 42:3)

• The psalmist is exiled from the temple (vv. 4, 6) and surrounded by taunts. Grief, loneliness, and doubt flood his soul.

• He does not sanitize his pain; he verbalizes it to God word-for-word.

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What the Verse Teaches About Emotion in Prayer

• Raw honesty is welcomed. God includes this lament in Scripture to show that unfiltered sorrow is not irreverent.

• Tears themselves become prayer: “My tears have been my food.” When words fail, God still hears the language of tears (cf. Psalm 56:8).

• Continual lament—“day and night”—is permitted. The psalmist does not feel pressured to resolve his emotions quickly.

• Adversity can provoke deeper communion. The taunt “Where is your God?” drives him to pursue God more earnestly (vv. 1-2).

• Emotions and faith coexist. Doubt and distress surface, yet the psalmist keeps addressing the Lord rather than turning away (v. 5).

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Why God Welcomes Our Tears

• He commands, “Pour out your hearts before Him” (Psalm 62:8).

• Jesus Himself “offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears” (Hebrews 5:7).

• The Lord invites casting “all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

• He records every tear: “You have kept count of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle” (Psalm 56:8).

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Putting It Into Practice

• Speak plainly—name the hurt, the question, the fear.

• Pray persistently; if the grief returns tomorrow, pray it again.

• Let tears flow without apology; they testify that you trust God with the deepest places of your heart.

• Anchor honest lament to truth: end, as the psalmist does (v. 11), by reminding your soul of God’s salvation and goodness.