Sometimes we have times when we are struggling as we travel with the Father. Over the last year, many of us have mourned racial injustice in our country. As we read, listen, and watch more about Black history, a myriad of feelings can come to the surface. How do we deal with those feelings? One way is to write out your feelings in a psalm of lament. Unfortunately, most churches do not spend time with lament, they are more about the “Victory in Jesus.” Yes, He is victorious, but you don’t just find cheery, inspiring verses in the Bible. You also find real people, struggling with real pain and real injustice. Creating your own lament psalm is a biblically sound way of dealing with your struggles. I am taking this basic structure for a lament psalm from Thomas Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary.
An Introductory Cry
Here you address the Lord. It is normally a cry of pain. Psalm 22 begins.” My God! My God!”
The Lament Proper
You pour out your heart to God. Many of the biblical psalms have the following elements:
- I am hurting!
- You do not care!
- The enemy is winning!
A Confession of Trust
Despite how you feel, you now write that you trust in God. Maybe you have a particular scripture you like to fall back on. You trust that God is good, that he is faithful, etc.
Reasons for God to Act
Why do you want him to act? Will his name be glorified? Do you want him to fulfill a promise?
Petitions
What exactly do you want him to do? Listen? Act? Punish?
Vow of Praise
You finish up by praising God for who he is, what he will do or both.
That’s it. Now these are just suggestions. Many of the psalms in the Bible don’t follow this pattern. They might have a confession of trust, a petition, a confession of trust again, then the expression of a lament. There is not a wrong way to do this! Here is a lament I wrote when I was struggling with Covid-19 and worshipping in church.
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