June 2, 2023
“I know there are times with God where you just want to write a letter and you just want to complain and yell at God. You want to tell him what He is not doing for you…. And really there is nothing wrong with that. If you are upset, then write it out and let God know.”
– Sophia Reed, PhD
Many of us kneel in prayer in church and many more talk to God during the day, asking for help, complaining about problems and seeking his advice when things get really bad. How many people lie awake at night, staring at the ceiling, hoping God is still up to listen to their troubles? Of course, he’s always up, waiting to hear from us.
In fact, it’s an elementary rule of the spiritual life that God wants to hear from us, the more the better. He’s a great listener, and he’ll never get tired of you talking. Then, there are those who go to church and sit in front of the tabernacle because they know all the answers are there. They’re especially grateful to talk directly to God in the Blessed Sacrament during Eucharistic adoration, where they spend time with Jesus — Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.
Still others are just starting out. Rather than having a conversation, they prefer to put their thoughts on paper and write a letter to God, expressing their feelings, slowly and deliberately one word at a time. When we are grieving, this approach has advantages because it gives us an opportunity to go back days, weeks and months later to reread what we’ve written to God. People who take this approach make a startling discovery when they revisit their communication with God because they often realize that God has, indeed, responded in ways that never seemed possible and in ways that are undeniable. When that happens — and it happens more than we realize — it’s time to stop and say thanks.
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When you write letters to God, you can always be sure you’ll get an answer.