Daily Devo

Gut Honesty

By: Wendy Sanders

Thursday, May 15, 2025

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him. Nahum 1:7

I grew up in church, and I can’t remember a time when I didn’t attend church. In fact, when the person playing baby Jesus got sick before the Christmas play, they picked me to fill in. Over the years, I've heard many prayers that came from many different people. But as I grew up, I always struggled in my own prayer life. Specifically, I thought I needed to follow a certain formula to be heard by God. To me, most of my prayers seemed empty. Deep down, I felt something was lacking. That mindset held me back and kept me from feeling connected to God.

1 Samuel has a story about Hannah is pouring out her heart to God. The prophet Samuel sees her lips moving, but when he doesn't hear any words, he assumes she's drunk. “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord.” 1 Samuel 1:15

In my mid-twenties I attended a Christian women's conference. When one of the speakers made this statement, it really impacted me: "Honesty with God is an absolute requirement, and it's necessary to keep moving in this journey. Gut honesty combined with the truth of God’s word equals freedom! Healthy relationships depend on frequent and honest two-way conversations."

I just sat there dumbfounded. Gut honesty with God... Is that even a thing? Do people really do that? Of course God knows our thoughts, but to me, verbalizing my thoughts to God seemed foreign. Then, I thought "If nothing is hidden from God, why am I holding things back?" Later that night, I didn’t! I told God everything I was feeling, hurts and all. Like Hannah, I poured my soul out to the Lord with gut honesty. The freedom I felt afterwards was like nothing I'd felt before. The "block" I had in my prayer life was finally gone! Then it dawned on me, I previously lacked what Hannah had. Before, I wasn't completely pouring out my soul to the Lord.

My prayer life and my conversations with God have never been the same. Are you and I alike? Are you really pouring out your soul to God? If you aren't, don't be fearful, you'll just be telling God what He already knows! If it seems foreign, re-read our opening verse, Nahum 1:7, "He cares for those who trust in him."

Trust God, then pour out your soul to Him with gut honesty!