A Prayer of Lament
God loves to hear our voices. He encourages us to cry out to him as honestly and often as possible, and he has given us the gift of lament to help us process hard experiences. Lamenting is when we come to God, express our sorrow and anger about what’s going on, ask for his help, and choose to trust him. It is modeled frequently in the Bible in places such as the Psalms, the book of Lamentations, and by Jesus in Gethsemane. In the wake of recent events, here is a prayer shaped by Scripture that you can use to guide your lamentation. It is formatted after The Lord’s Prayer, and the four aspects of lamentation are represented throughout.
Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Before we say anything else, God, we honor you. We come before you in humility. We could tell you how we think things should be, but who are we to try and teach justice to the only righteous judge, or increase the knowledge of the all-knowing one? Your holy ways and sacred thoughts are as high above us as the heavens are above the earth, but still you stand ready to hear our complaint. Your shoulders are strong to carry our burdens. All the nations are a drop in the bucket before you, and yet, our tears are precious to you. What kind of God is so awesome and so intimate?
So, as we come before you to lament, we first confess that whether the sun is shining or clouds gather, you are good. When we can’t fathom why you do what you do, we stand firm in the knowledge that you have given us good reason to trust your faithful character.
Your kingdom come,
Now more than ever, the reality of the fallenness of our kingdom stands in stark contrast to the righteous glory of your coming kingdom. When tragedy strikes, let our hearts yearn for your kingdom, where the water of life flows freely from your throne and the nations rejoice in your healing. When you make all things new, we will not mourn in darkness, because you will be our light.
We commit our primary allegiance to Jesus, our King, and ask for the willingness to die to ourselves every day for the sake of his kingdom. Lord, great wrongs have been done and are yet to be done; please, come back and make them right. Give us courage to partner with you in this process, and patience to wait for you, because every day you wait is evidence of your desire to give everyone time to turn to you.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
This is both easy and difficult to pray in the wake of violence. It is easy to ask for your will when we think about how you do justice, give peace, and are not willing that any should perish. But it is hard to ask for your will when, in your unfathomable wisdom, you allow acts of hatred to happen on earth. When we are shocked and burdened by this, please gently guide us from a posture of crying out against you to a posture of crying out for you. Thank you for permission to lament in dark days. You do not turn away our cries, no matter how poorly expressed. You will not break a bruised reed or extinguish a barely-burning candle. You have wept with us, teaching us by example to mourn with those who mourn. You do not allow us to experience any pain or temptation that you have not already suffered. We trust your love; therefore, we trust your will.
Give us this day our daily bread,
We feel deeply the unpredictability of a life we can only live one moment at a time. Our bodies are like grass, here today and gone tomorrow, but you and your word endure forever. We thank you for your good, common-grace gifts like food, shelter, safety, and health; we release our desire to worship or cling too tightly to these gifts. Instead, we place them in your hands. Whether we have them or not, we have reason to rejoice. You are a God who not only provides our daily food to sustain us today, but also gives us living bread that sustains us forever. Thank you for this bread, the body of your Son given for the forgiveness of our sins.
And forgive us our debts,
We say with Job, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). We confess the times when, as Job did, we respond to pain by trying to make demands of you or hold you accountable to our deficient standards. We proclaim your goodness, repent of our arrogance, and put our trust in You.
You have given us the task of representing you on earth. We are your ambassadors to carry your message, your letter to communicate your heart, your body at work. Please, forgive us for how poorly we do that. Thank you for working through us, in spite of us. Help us to keep your purposes at the forefront of our minds and actions.
We long to live fully for you; we also know we cannot do it perfectly. Thank you that Jesus has already been perfect on our behalf, and that your purposes will stand no matter how far we fall short. We trust that we are already made perfect by Jesus’ work on the cross even as we are being made holy by your Spirit. Help our good works to be motivated not by a false need to prove ourselves, but by responsive love for you and gratitude for the perfection you have already attributed to us in Jesus.
As we also have forgiven our debtors.
How grateful we are that you, the all-powerful one, are also the all-loving one. You visit justice on a few generations but show love to thousands. You are slow to anger, quick to forgive, and abounding in love to all who call to you. Your compassion is readily stirred. Please, make us like that. Lord, make your church a people of justice and mercy, who are not afraid to stand up for righteousness but do not hesitate to forgive. Help us to remember that when we forgive, we do not minimize wrongdoing. Instead, when we forgive, we affirm that Christ has died and paid for that sin, no matter how grievous, and we agree with Christ that those who repent will receive His grace.
And lead us not into temptation
Lord, in the wake of a national tragedy like this, it is tempting to take up a lesser cause than your kingdom. Lead us not into the temptation to idolatry, worshiping political causes or even martyrs. Laws do not change our hearts; they only reveal our hearts’ corruption. Only you change hearts. Only you are worthy of our worship.
Lead us not into temptation to withdraw, allowing the distractions of our immoderate culture to numb our hearts such that we cannot rejoice with those who rejoice or mourn with those who mourn. Help us to resist the lure of what persecuted Christians have called “the satanic lullaby”- the comfort and opulence that dulls our fervor and leads us into self-righteous apathy. But in our desire for action, lead us not into temptation for eye-for-eye retribution. Let us fight differently than the world fights, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil. And when tragedy strikes again, as it inevitably will, lead us not unto temptation to despair, for you are a God of hope, the mighty one who saves. Let us instead be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and patient in prayer as we wait for you.
But deliver us from evil
We are entirely dependent on you to rescue us; our times are in your hands. We know you hear our cries of outrage and pain. Your children are not exempt from grief, but we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Our grief mingles with the hope of your return, when you will enact the final justice and mercy you have promised. Where you would work through your church to bring this deliverance about in the world, let us be willing. Let us comfort others with the abundant comfort you offer us. Let us not hoard the great treasure we have in Christ but instead share it for love of God and others.
As we go out into the world, please remind us that wherever we are going, you are already there. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Scripture Referenced
Matthew 6:9-13
Isaiah 55:8-9
Isaiah 40:12-23
Psalm 56:8
Revelation 21-22
Job 42:2-6
John 14:27
Psalm 37:28
2 Peter 3:9
Isaiah 42:3
John 11:35
Psalm 22
Matthew 27:46
1 Thessalonians 4:13
Romans 12:15
John 6:35
1 Corinthians 11:24
2 Corinthians 5:20
2 Corinthians 3:2
1 Corinthians 12:12
Proverbs 19:21
Hebrews 10:14
Psalm 86:5
Exodus 20:5-6
Psalm 86:5
Matthew 5:38-48
Ephesians 6:12
Zephaniah 3:17
Romans 12:12
Matthew 25:31-46
2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Matthew 13:44-46
Psalm 31:15
Revelation 1:8