What is Biblical Lament?

Lynn Green led this reflection on biblical lament at Baptist Union Council in October 2024. You may find it helpful to use in your private and collective prayer times.

An accompanying PowerPoint can also be downloaded and shared.

Lament is a crying out that expresses the pain, horror and desperation of our situation. It is often expressed in the Psalms, but also in other biblical passages such as Hannah pouring out her heart and deep anguish to the Lord in I Samuel 1, and Job complaining freely to God in Job 10. Critically, biblical lament is a crying out TO GOD, the one who we know and love and ultimately have confidence in.

We lament because this seems to fly in the face of the nature and purposes of the Lord.

Lament is an expression of our relationship with God; there is an intimacy and vulnerability in opening ourselves and pouring out our hearts to our loving God.  It is honest and raw, and yet it is still talking with God.

Lament is not passive or wallowing; it is expressing what is real and also a holding onto hope through asking for change.  We want God to listen so that he might hear us and take action.

So part of our lament is asking God to be true to his nature and promises.

Lament is not only about my heart cry; it is also about experiencing solidarity with those who cry out to God.  We may not have been blanked at meetings, we may not have experienced financial hardship because of our gender, we may not have been exploited or trafficked, we may not be trying to survive in the midst of flooding or drought, but we can stand with those who lament - and their lament can become our lament as together we grieve the brokenness of our world, and long for God’s Kingdom to come fully.  It is part of loving our neighbour as we love ourselves.

In this way our lament can also lead us into action with God to heal and renew. Lament softens our hearts and changes us so that more of God’s Kingdom can be revealed.

Lament is important and not to be overlooked, avoided or ignored - but neither is it the last word.  Because lament is about our relationship with God, about God’s character and purposes, about solidarity with those who suffer, it is also a shared longing for God’s Kingdom. So, we express our trust, that even when we cannot see or understand everything, we know that God holds all things and is working his purposes out, even when it looks like nothing is happening.

And so we lament in hope. Now we see as in a glass darkly, but then we shall see face to face. Now we experience suffering and brokenness and sin, but we worship the risen Lord Jesus Christ and have sure and certain hope that he will come again and make all things new.

The basic movements:

• Turning – we are engaged in Christian lament and so we address our God, and we remember the nature of who God is as we call upon him. Psalm 88:1, 'O Lord, God of my Salvation, I cry out to you by day.  I come to you at night.'
• Complaining – we express what has happened to God, who is hurting and why. We name whose fault it is, if anyone.  We express our raw and honest feelings about things, and we are not afraid that God will withdraw his approval in response to the full blast of our feelings, hurt and pain. Psalm 13:1-2, 'O Lord, how long will you forget me?  Forever?  How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?  How long will my enemy have the upper hand?'  And from the New Testament, 2 Corinthians 12:7b-8, '…I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.  Three times I begged the Lord to take it away.'
• Asking – asking God for help.  Asking God that our experiences of brokenness and sin end and that God’s Kingdom ways would be established more fully. I Samuel 1:11, 'O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you.'
• Trusting – expressing our trust in our relationship with God and his fundamental goodness towards us.  And this moves us into praise.  Psalm 13:5-6, 'But I trust in your unfailing love.  I will rejoice because you have rescued me.  I will sing to the Lord because He is good to me.'   Habakkuk 3:17-19, 'Even though the fig tree has no blossoms, and there are no grapes in the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord!  I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.  The Sovereign Lord is my strength!'

So let’s follow this pattern in our praying and begin with turning to the Lord together.
 

Turning

Opening prayer and readings

• Isaiah 53: 1-9
• Hebrews 4:14-16 & 5:7-10

Close with plenary prayer
 

Complaining

Space to express lament that has been prompted by Project Violet – an experience you have had, something that you have read or heard or seen.  What is your heart cry to the Lord?  How are you lamenting in solidarity with others?

Play 'O Lord hear my prayer' from Taizé quietly in the background, or another appropriate piece of music.   
 

Asking

Invite people into small groups with those around them to pray together asking God to act in response to our lament.
 
To transition people from groups back to plenary, play 'Lord from Sorrows Deep I call.' Matt Boswell and Matt Papa, or another appropriate piece of music. 
 

Trusting

Plenary prayer expressing our trust and hope in God.