Have you ever prayed and felt completely forsaken, like your words just bounced off the ceiling? You know God is real. You know His word says He will never leave you nor forsake you. But in the waiting, it can feel like He already has. David felt forsaken, too. In Psalm 22:1-2, he cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” If that word describes where you are right now, here’s what David’s honesty can teach us about faith when you feel forsaken.
You’re Not the First to Feel Forsaken
David wasn’t a perfect man. He made mistakes that cost people their lives and their trust. Yet God still called him a man after His own heart. That should tell you something. Feeling forsaken doesn’t disqualify you from being close to God. It’s actually part of walking with Him.
David wasn’t alone in feeling this way. In Psalm 13:1-2, another writer asks, “How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever?” This kind of honest questioning shows up again and again in scripture. It’s not a sign of weak faith. It’s a sign of real faith, the kind that keeps talking to God even in a season that feels forsaken.
A Real Story of Waiting
In July 2023, life looked good. Steady paycheck, comfortable home, a plan coming together. By the end of that month, the job was gone. A friend helped land a new one within two weeks. Two months later, that job ended too. What followed was nine months without steady work, and nine months of wondering if God had simply moved on.
During that stretch, the mortgage kept coming. The bills kept coming. Right in the middle of it, two new daughters joined the family through adoption, which meant more mouths to feed and no income to feed them with. In the first few months, faith held strong. But month after month of silence started to wear on that faith, and it started to feel like forsaken wasn’t just a word in a psalm anymore. That’s when Psalm 22:1 stopped being a verse on a page and started being a real prayer.
Honest Prayer Over Performed Prayer
It’s easy to slip into “religious” language when praying, using big formal words to sound spiritual. But God isn’t looking for a performance. He wants a relationship. Think about how you talk to your closest friends versus how you might address a stranger you’re trying to impress. God has called believers His friends, and He hears the difference, even when what you’re saying is that you feel forsaken.
David and the other biblical writers didn’t hide their feelings from God. They said exactly what they were experiencing, without dressing it up. And notice this: God never condemned them for it. He never got angry that they admitted feeling forsaken. In fact, He draws close to a broken and contrite heart. Bringing real emotion to God, instead of just the facts of a situation, is part of what genuine faith looks like. If this resonates with where you are, Authentic Faith versus religious performance is worth reading next.
Why It Feels Like Separation
That sense of being forsaken has a root cause. Back in Genesis 3:1-6, sin entered the picture and created a gap between people and God. That gap couldn’t be crossed by good behavior or good intentions. But God didn’t leave it there. He made a way through Jesus, who took on that separation Himself so people could have direct access to God again. There’s no more sacrifice required, no more checklist to complete. The work is already finished. John 3:16 says it plainly: whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.
His Presence Doesn’t Depend On Your Feelings
Picture a child asleep during a thunderstorm, caught in a nightmare, crying out for a parent who is actually already in the room. The child feels forsaken in that moment, but the parent has been there the whole time. That’s a picture of how God works in hard seasons. He doesn’t show up after the cry, He was already there before it started.
Lamentations 3:21-28 puts words to this. God’s loving kindness never ceases, and His compassion is new every single morning. That means no matter how forsaken the last season felt, today comes with fresh mercy attached to it. The feeling of being forsaken and the fact of His presence are two different things, and scripture consistently points to the second one being true.
Build Your Faith File
So what do you actually do with this? Stop pretending everything is fine when it isn’t. Take 15 minutes to write down exactly what you’re feeling, using Psalm 22:1 as your starting point. Tell God directly where it hurts and where you feel forsaken. He welcomes that honesty.
Then start something practical, a faith file. This is a written or mental record of every time God has come through before. When the next season that feels forsaken hits, that file becomes evidence you can stand on. It’s the same principle behind choosing forgiveness as a decision, not a feeling. Faith is something you act on, not something you wait to feel.
Build Your Faith File
Every time God comes through, write it down. When the next hard season hits, this becomes your evidence.
Your Stored Memories
Your Faith File is empty. Add your first memory of God’s faithfulness above.
You Don’t Have to Wait Alone
If you’re walking through a season where you feel forsaken, you’re not doing faith wrong. You’re in good company with David, with the psalmists, and with a lot of people sitting in the pews around you. Bring Him the honest version of what you’re feeling. He’s already there, and He’s not going anywhere.
Ready to bring your questions and your honesty into a community that gets it? Join us on Sunday and walk through this together.
