If our prayer life feels incomplete, it may be because we don't honestly acknowledge the resentment, anger, and despair that we occasionally bring to prayer. Instead, fearing they make us unworthy in God's eyes, we try to hide them by pretending they don't exist. But this dishonest concealment of who we are blocks the intimate relationship with God we crave.
The Hebrew Bible's Psalms can help us pray more honestly. Because they express the entire range of human emotions, they give us permission to be straightforward about all of ours, negative as well as positive. The Psalms, then, are good guidelines for honest prayer. As St. Athanasius observed in the fourth century, they instruct us because they portray us. Fr. Kerry offers practical tips on how to begin praying with the Psalms.