Five Verses to Pray when You are Angry With God

With all the COVID-19 restrictions these last few months, our 14-year-old Cocker Spaniel, Bailey, was in dire need of grooming.

One of the best-known things about Cockers is that their hair grows incredibly long, and when maintained, it’s quite beautiful. However, for our family, it’s easier to keep Bailey shaved down. It’s cooler on him, and we don’t have too much dog hair floating around the house.

Bailey gets groomed every three months, and as it would happen, he had an appointment right as the quarantine took effect, and thus, canceled. It would be an additional three months before we could get another appointment for him.

He looked like a cute little teddy bear.

His appointment was scheduled on the Wednesday before the weekend of our son’s graduation open house and ceremony. That morning as I dropped off Bailey at the groomers, I reminded her, yet again, that Bailey was 14, and please be careful of his back legs. He is showing signs of age, and she assured me that she would. She took Bailey’s leash and walked him into the building.

As directed, I picked him up at 4:00, only to find my sweet pup dragging his back to legs, struggling to walk. He was injured while getting groomed.

I was angry.

Prayers and Tears

Thankfully, the groomer is in our veterinarian’s office. I immediately took him back in to be examined. After talking with the groomer, the veterinarian told me that she had some problems getting Bailey in a cage, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. With some pain medicine and rest, we were assured that Bailey should be ok.

The next morning, he was worse than before. It was is if his back legs were completely paralyzed. In my heart, I knew that this would not be ending well. Two days before my son’s graduation festivities and I’m facing the choice of needing to put my dog out his misery.

I was angry.

Once again, I called our veterinarian and demanded to know what happened.

“Something happened, and I just want to know the truth, that’s it,” I told the receptionist. She promptly put me on the phone with the groomer, not the wisest decision on her part.

Again I was told that nothing happened.

We were able to get Bailey an appointment to see our regular, wonderful veterinarian. As Craig and I drove to the appointment, I thought we would have that final decision. It was already an emotional wreck, and now we were facing losing a beloved family member.

I was angry.

Thankfully Dr. Klopfenstein thought with some rest, rehabilitation, and medicine, Bailey would come out of this. Our once active dog would need to be confined to a small area, with little movement as possible.

So, as a family, we took to the task of carrying him up the stairs to the outside. Craig made a belt out of an old towel so that we could put around Bailey’s stomach to hold him up when he needed to do his business.

The look in his eyes every time we went out, broke my heart.

I kept whispering to him, “Please give me a sign and let me know it’s ok to let you go!” It wasn’t fair to him to be living like this. As a family, we decided that if he wasn’t better by Monday, we would release him from his pain.

Angry with God

Two days after Bailey’s injury, I sat on our deck and cried. I didn’t need this. My prayers for our sweet pup to get better weren’t being answered.

I was angry, furious at God.

Why wasn’t He answering these prayers? I have been through hell and back. I lost my brother and my dad. My older son missed out on the last few months of his senior year of high school, and my younger son missed hanging out with his friends. My prayers were falling on deaf ears, and I was angry!

But something happened on the day of my son’s open house. I needed to let Bailey out in the middle of all of it, and when I set him down on the ground, and off he went. Was the medicine working, or was it the adrenaline because he was happy to see everyone? He still struggled a little bit because his front legs moved faster than his back legs.

After all the festivities of the weekend, Monday was upon us, and I knew a decision needed to be made. As I took Bailey outside for his morning bathroom break, I felt a slight whisper, “wait and see.”  Wait and see? I wanted immediate relief for Bailey. I’m not a patient person, and I didn’t want to “wait and see.”

So, I waited, and I saw our pup start to walk on his own more and more.

It’s Ok to be Angry with God

Have you ever been angry with God? At some point in our lives, we all get angry with God.

David was angry with God. Job lost everything and was in anguish with the Lord. Naomi lost her husband and sons and changed her name to Mara because the “Almighty has dealt bitterly with me” (Ruth 2:20).

It’s ok to be angry with the Lord. It’s ok to be real with Him; in fact, He wants us to be real with Him. He wants us to talk with Him and speak our minds to Him.

The Lord is our friend. He will never leave for forsake us.

David, Job, and Naomi all expressed anger towards the Lord, but in the end, they praised Him for the work that He had done in their lives.

Lesson Learned

While we still haven’t been told exactly what happened, we didn’t have to pay for any additional services or x-rays. Bailey is back to normal, as normal as a 14-year-old dog can be.

The Lord had His hand in this. He was working behind the scenes, and He did hear my prayers.

Here are five verses to reflect on and pray over when you are angry with the Lord.

1. Psalm 13:1-2 “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?” 
2. Psalm 22:1-3 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.”
3. Psalm 37:8 “Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.”
4. Psalm 42:9-11 “I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”
5. Habbakuk 1:2 “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?

If you are angry with the Lord, please know that it’s ok; however, I encourage you to pray and still seek Him. He has not abandoned you. He is right there with you, guiding you through the ups and downs of life.

Seek to find Him in the midst of your anger, and you will quickly see that He is walking right beside you!

Resources to Download

Verses to Pray: 31 Days of Prayer for Students, Parents, Teachers, and Staff at Our Schools

Now more than ever, our schools need our prayers! I’ve created this guide for you to pray daily for our students, parent, teachers, and staff. Please click here to download this free resource.

My Identity: A Five-Day Devotional to Remind You of Who You Are in Christ.

In the rush of life, we often forget our true identities, our identity in Christ. In this devotional, you will be reminded that you are forgiven, free, loved, redeemed, and seated. Click here to download.