The Daily: Monday September 1, 2025

Psalm 137 (NRSV, The Message)

By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down and there we wept
when we remembered Zion...
Happy shall they be who take your little ones
and dash them against the rock!
Psalm 137:1,9 (NRSV)

The psalms remind us that prayer doesn’t need to be polished, polite, or pretty. Some of the most powerful prayers in scripture are cries of pain, outrage, and despair. Psalm 137 begins with tears and longing but ends in raw anger, even violence. It’s jarring to hear words like “happy shall they be who dash their little ones against the rock,” yet the psalmist’s honesty reveals something vital: God can hold all of it. We do not need to edit ourselves for God.

When we silence our anger in prayer, we risk silencing our deepest truth. Anger tells us something has been violated—our dignity, our community, or God’s dream of justice. Naming that in prayer is not a failure of faith but an act of trust. If God is big enough to create the cosmos, God is big enough to hold our rage. Prayer becomes a place of release, where what feels unbearable can be carried by the One who knows us best.

Reflection Question: Where am I holding back in prayer because I think my anger is “too much”?

Prayer: God who listens, receive my whole self—including my anger—as an offering to you. Amen.