Week 3: Prayer as Lament
February 15-21 (Monday-Sunday)
Open with Prayer: Invite the Holy Spirit to be present, illuminate the Scriptures, and to have Jesus’ will be done today in the group.
Talk Together: (5-10 minutes) In groups of 2-3 ask the following questions:
Last week we talked about unanswered prayer. How was your time praying the three questions? Talk about any challenges that you faced.
add 3 questions
What did you learn about God? What did you learn about yourself?
“Sometimes we do not need a full answer; rather, we need people with us along the journey.” Has this phrase grown in meaning for us in the last week?
Read this Overview: (5 minutes) Read this overview to the whole Group:
One of the reasons that we can trust the Scriptures and follow Jesus is because of how real it is. The accounts of people’s lives in the Bible are often heartbreaking. There are stories of hurt, loss, betrayal, abuse, death, confusion, and frustration. People in the Bible felt what we feel. They dealt with what we deal with. The Bible contains many stories where things got worse, not better. What is more real than that?
Prayer as lament is about being real with God. It is about being troubled, angry, sad, and frustrated with life, God, or the state of the world. It is grieving over sin and evil. It is being frustrated and appalled with suffering in the world. It is being honest about the hard things in both our own lives and the world around us. It is about presenting all of those things before God. It is about not having an answer and not having it together yet still approaching God. Lament is learning how to be honest with God not only with our words but with our emotions, thoughts, and desires as well.
Micah here, I have a quick story. A friend of mine was going through a rough time a few years back with his family, and he was quite emotional for a few days, and wasn’t sure how to deal with it. An upperclassman named Vince pulled him aside and asked me a question that I will never forget. He said, “Why do you think that Psalms is a book of prayer?” My friend, wanting to prove that he was smart, quickly retorted, “Because David always praised God.” Vince looked at my friend and said, “The Psalms are a book of prayer not because the writers were always happy with God, but because they were always honest with God.”
That is what lamenting is all about. Being truly honest with God. I think that after the last year, us learning how to be honest with God is one of the best things we can do.
For further study, read: Psalm 142, Psalm 74, Psalm 51, John 16:17-33.
Talk Together: (5-10 minutes) In groups of 2-3 ask the following questions:
What is your experience with prayers of lament? When was the last time, if ever, that you lamented before God?
Two-thirds of the Psalms are prayers of lament. The authors express anger, discouragement, sadness, doubt, frustration, and a longing for God. What does this show us about God and those who are in a relationship with Him?
Generally speaking, Americans know very little about lament. Why do you think this is?
Dive In: (25 minutes):
Take a minute or so to be quiet before God. Ask the Holy Spirit to make Himself known and to speak to each person in the room. Pray, “Father, we want to live our life with You. Please meet with us here and help us be near to You.”
Have someone in the group read Psalm 79 (or another lament psalm of your choosing) out loud. Do your best to pray it, not just listen to it.
After reading the Psalm, sit in silence for a few minutes. Think about and feel the weight of lament in your own life, in your community, or in the world. It can be a lament over unanswered prayer or just emotional pain. Let yourself truly feel with God.
When it feels right to conclude your time of silence as a group, take a few minutes and write out your own “lament psalm” to God. Do not censor yourself. Flip the edit button to the “off” position and be honest with God and your community.
For those who are comfortable, share your lament with the group (However, everyone is encouraged to share their lament with a close friend or family member during the week).
Thank Jesus that He lamented and went through emotional pain in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross and that He will lead and guide us through those kinds of moments.
End by singing a worship song together (from a phone, on a guitar, or just sing)
This Week’s Practice:
The point of lament is, to be honest with your emotions before God. Take 5 minutes each night before you go to sleep and write out all of the emotions that you have experienced that day. Go before God unfiltered with all of your thoughts and feelings. It is in these moments where you and God are truly in a relationship.
Then, once you have let all your emotions and thoughts out and just sat in them with Jesus, write out why you can trust God with these emotions and in these situations.
Close Your Time in Prayer.