Habakkuk and many of the rest of Judah was likely going to be around, when the Babylonians invaded the land and took them captive and designated their country; and he feared that. That was God's work, but Habakkuk feared it and he tells him so; the honesty of prayer. Can you tell God your fears? Can you be that honest with your God? Do you remember when Jacob prayed in Genesis 32:1–32? He was coming back into the land and the Lord had promised to keep him secure but he was disturbed. He had to face his brother Esau again. And he got an intelligence report from his scouts that Esau was coming with four hundred men. Well, that meant one thing: raid and death. And he was pretty sure that even the women and children would be wiped out viciously. And so he prayed to the Lord about this, and he said in Genesis 32:1–32: deliver me I pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him. How candid, how straight forward. Can you be that honest with your Father in prayer? Can you tell him your fears?
A Scandinavian writer who wrote a work on prayer, defined prayer in this way: he said,
Ralph Davisto pray is to open the door to Jesus and to admit Him into your distress.You could probably narrow that a little bit and say, to pray is to open the door to Jesus and to admit him into your fears. Can you do that? I have feared, O Yahweh, your work! Part of our problem—perhaps, because we cannot be more honest in prayer about this—is because we think that when we pray, we have to pray in faith, and if I fear, then maybe that is not consistent with my faith, and so I have to put down my fear because then I would not be praying in faith. [We might think:] I cannot let those fears out; I must come in faith. I must talk myself into a better frame of mind. In this way we sacrifice honesty in prayer and we do not bring the fears to Yahweh, like Habakkuk did. But know the way of faith in praying is to faithfully speak your fears to your God.I have feared, O Yahweh, your work.Can you do that? Can you name your fears to God?1
2 O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.