This week we open up Psalms 136 and 137 to see the ranges of emotions expressed by the Psalmists and why simple praying opens us up to the heart of God like nothing else. God doesn’t want our pious words without heart. In this sermon we move deeper into the simply human praying that resets us in dependence upon God’s presence, guides us into our feelings, humanity, and desires, and teaches us to live with all of these in losses of life, in joy, trusting that our times are in God’s hands. Turning to Psalm 22 and Jesus’s choice of Psalm 22 for his cross Psalm, we finish our first look in the Psalms, God’s presence, and Christian praying by taking a final look at praying simply and praying when God seems absent. Expressing our full range of emotions when God is silent helps feed us in a life full of loss . Deep, authentic prayer fuels us in our lives with hope and helps us to live and encourage our alternative Christian worldview.