Best of The Aware Show with Ian Punnett: How to Pray When You're Pissed at God – Part 1

hen things go wrong, what do you do with the feelings you might harbor? Do you sometimes think that God is to blame?  Listen in to today’s interview as radio host, best-selling author, and Episcopalian Deacon Ian Punnett shares with Lisa a spiritual path for expressing your rawest emotions through prayer, as described in his book, “How to Pray When You’re Pissed at God.”  During this interview, Ian talks about prayer and religion, as well as meditation and visualization. He explains ways to express anger and how, in certain circumstances, it is fine to do so. We have a poor understanding of the role of anger; we don’t teach it, and we don’t know how to be constructively and responsibly angry. If we feel like we are being hurt, we can pray about it. The model is in the Bible. Ian explains how there are Psalms and Hymns about anger, and he discusses the work he has done as a chaplain in the hospital with people who are very angry about their situations.   Ian Punnett is one of the hosts of Coast to Coast AM, a legendary radio show syndicated on more than 600 stations across North America. He is a deacon in the Episcopal Church who received his Masters of Divinity degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta.  He has worked in radio since he was 14 years old, at the high school radio station, then as a nighttime DJ at a Chicago station during college. He then continued to have great success as a radio host in Atlanta, Nashville, and Minneapolis/St Paul, in addition to working in television. After experiencing tinnitus, he was forced to step down from radio and during many sleepless nights, he wrote the book, “How to Pray When You’re Pissed at God.” This is Part 1 of the interview.  Info: https://www.coasttocoastam.com/article/ian-punnett This interview was originally taped in June of 2013, and we air this today in honor of our colleague and friend Deacon Ian Punnett, Ph.D. Ian is one of the hosts of Coast to Coast AM, a Hall of Fame award-winning broadcaster, professor, and best-selling author. He passed away on December 22, 2023. Deus te Amat, Ian. Info: https://www.coasttocoastam.com/article/ian-punnett-march-3-1960-december-21-2023/